Tell Me Your Sins
by AudreaFalco
Summary: Jessaiya Recker and Tombstone were entrusted with gathering crucial intel for the United States military. When the fabricated assassination of a Chinese president sparks bad blood between the United States and China, can Tombstone stop a potential all-out war? (Told from a viewpoint where Sergeant Daniel Recker is a female named Jessaiya Recker.)
1. Welcome to Baku

**This story will follow pretty close to the campaign story in Battlefield 4 since I felt the story was very well written for the game itself. That being said, there will be a lot of action sequences and little dialogue in some parts, but I promise I'll be adding in my own ideas for what happens in the downtime when things aren't exploding or spiraling into chaos. Jessaiya's (pronounced like Jess-say-ya) back story and looks will also be revealed very soon.**

**Please leave me a comment if you liked my idea of having a female Recker or if you like what you read. I appreciate anyone that takes the time to do so! :)**

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><p>"What a hellhole…" I sigh out loud to myself as I reload the SCAR-H assault rifle, snapping the magazine back in with my palm. I hold the weapon up and look through the scope, moving forward and once again tripping over some form of debris. I grumble loudly and stumble forward, looking back at the offending object on the ground with annoyance. This time some sort of locker door was to blame. The hinges were singed where it had once attached itself to the locker, the rest of it charred beyond recognition.<p>

I moved forward down the hallway with my rifle raised, checking corners as I attempted to locate the rest of Tombstone, my squad. We had unfortunately been separated when running away from pursuing Russian Special Forces, the ones who were after the intelligence we obtained in Baku where I am now. As for a specific location, well…that would be a very rundown building in the middle of a town.

I turned the corner and cautiously approached a slightly opened door. I reached forward with my left hand and pushed it open, jumping back when a group of pigeons flew out in a hurry. I flinched when a few sets of wings struck my head and then cracked an eye open when the noise subsided. I kept moving forward into the room and then into a conjoining room, lowering my weapon a bit when I reached another hallway. I frowned when I began to wonder if radio silence was really a good idea when we would all be split up like this. I kicked a piece of concrete and watched it hit a wall as it sailed down the hallway, settling in a mound of dirt near another set of lockers. This was a school. A group of destroyed desks sat in a corner around piles of more rubble and destruction.

I kept moving forward into another set of rooms, my rifle rising once again when I heard muffled voices on the other side of a closed door. I took cautious steps toward the door and then stopped, placing my ear near the door in an attempt to recognize the voices. When I couldn't make any of them out, I took the next best step and prepared to open the door. I straightened up and readied my rifle, reaching a hand out to push open the door only to have it forcefully opened from the other side.

"Surprise motherfucker!" I was grabbed by the top of my bulletproof vest and pulled forward, my eyes shutting tight in defense as a handgun was placed close to my temple. I opened my eyes and frowned, coming face to face with Clayton Pakowski our field medic. He stared at me for a moment in complete shock before opening and closing his mouth a few times.

"Now would be a good time to put me down, Sergeant." I shot an annoyed glance at Pac as he lowered me to the ground, reaching a hand out to pat down the front of my vest.

"Jesus, Recker. I almost shot you in the face." Pac looked down at the ground as he adjusted the beanie on his head in embarrassment. I shook my head at him as I readjusted my gear. "I knew giving you a gun was a bad idea. What are you? Twelve?"

Pac looked up at me as I smirked at him. Pac was twenty-seven, but his boyish face kept him young aside from the usual wear and tear of war. That was what really showed in his tired eyes. I reached a hand out and pushed the beanie he wore down over his face, rubbing it in a little. He slapped my hand away and readjusted the beanie as another man walked into the room, taking one look at Pac and then at me. "Recker, I thought Irish was with you?"

"I thought he was with you, Sir." I watched Sergeant William Dunn pace in front of a row of windows before sighing loudly, wrapping a hand around the radio attached to his vest. "I'm breaking radio silence."

I tapped a finger to my radio to make sure it was still in full function as I walked forward towards the window where Dunn was standing. I felt a twinge of pain tug at my ankle and I grimaced, limping a few steps before regaining my composure. I felt a hand grab my left bicep and I looked back to see Pac looking down at my ankle.

"Did you sprain it? You're limping." Before I could stop him he bent down and began feeling around my shin and ankle, my hand reaching out to grab the front of his vest and pull him up. "It's fine. I just stumbled about sixty-two times, but I can survive with a little bit of pain."

Pac shot me an unconvinced look and shrugged. "If you say so, Jessaiya."

He turned away from me and walked towards Dunn, my face contorting into a look of annoyance. "You know I hate when you use my full name. You sound like my mother when I did something that she considered bad," I blinked hard once and then walked over to the window beside the one Pac was positioned at. "I'd like to not go back there."

I saw Pac glance at me from my peripheral vision, looking as though he was about to say something when Dunn's voice rose. "Irish! Get the hell out of there!"

Pac and I both shot our gazes to Dunn who was beginning to tear off boards that had been nailed to the windows. "Get these boards off and get ready to shoot. Irish is across the street and coming this way with some friends."

Pac and I both turned to our respective windows and began tearing boards down. There was a commotion across the street from our building and then screaming could be heard. I bent down to a knee and switched to my other gun, an MK11.

"Irish get your ass over here!" Dunn yelled down towards the street where Irish could be seen stumbling out of an alleyway with two men running after him. Irish fired a few rounds behind him while he ran, the two men scattering to cover as Irish once again stumbled to the ground. I squinted through the scope and aligned it with where one of the men was hiding, waiting for him to poke his body out. Rounds sounded from next to me as Pac shot at the wall where the second man was. The bullets bounced against the wall and a few more civilians scattered. The man I was focused on responded to the firing of Pac's weapon and stuck his body out from cover. I smirked and then pulled the trigger, watching the man bend backwards from the force of the bullet going through his head.

"Damn, Jess." I heard Pac laughing lightly from beside me, never ceasing his fire on the second man.

"Let's go, Irish!" Dunn shouted angrily down at Irish who was still firing his weapon haphazardly at the man still standing. A garbage can being knocked over caught my attention and I pointed my gun towards the sound, seeing two more men running towards a car as cover. They began raining fire on Irish as he ran.

"Two on the left!" Pac yelled out as he downed another man, Dunn aiming at the one closest to him behind the car. He fired a few rounds and hit him, the body falling to the ground limply. The remaining man stood straight up and once again began firing at Irish, his gun stalling and then jamming as I focused on him.

"Got 'em." I pulled the trigger and the man fell flat on his back. Pac sighed and then stood up, watching as Dunn motioned for Irish to come to the window. I strapped the MK11 onto my back and then stood straight, grabbing my SCAR-H as Dunn pulled Irish into the room, his breathing hard. He placed his hands on his hips and stood up, looking at all of us. "Thanks."

"Just be glad you weren't killed," Dunn crossed his arms and then looked between Pac and Irish. "What happened?"

Both men hesitated for a moment before Pac spoke up, a hand going to the back of his neck. "I think we got separated when we turned into a back alley. I turned around and Irish wasn't behind me."

"Yeah, there was a Russian waiting in a corner and he forced me to turn down another alleyway to avoid gunfire." Irish finished for Pac as Dunn listened to them, his face remaining neutral.

"Alright," Dunn nodded at the two men and then grabbed his weapon from beside the window, reloading it. "At least now we can get out of here and back to Valkyrie."

Dunn nodded at all of us and then made his way into an adjoining room. Pac followed behind Dunn and I walked forward towards Irish, patting a hand on his arm. He looked down at me with a slight smile and then straightened up, following me out of the room.

"We'll head to the extraction point immediately. We have the intel and that's all that matters right now." Dunn spoke as he continued to lead the squad down a long hallway, his gun raised at the ready in case more Russian forces decided to show up. The end of the long hallway opened up into a sort of courtyard. It looked exactly like the inside of the school: destroyed and sullen.

"We'll cut through here. The helo should be close to our location in a building not too far off." Dunn jumped down a short drop into the courtyard, Pac following behind him.

"More walking…" I heard Irish grumble from behind me and I smirked, jumping down into the courtyard with a thud. As soon as Irish's feet hit the ground behind me a few men ran out from the doors to our right, gunfire soon following. All of us ducked behind concrete structures, returning fire. A few of the men fell quickly leaving two of them to duck behind pillars.

"Sync shot, Irish!" I yelled over towards Irish and aimed towards the man closest to me. "Take the one on the left. On my call!"

"Got it!" Irish raised his weapon towards the man closest to him, flinching slightly when a few bullets scraped the top of his concrete cover. I looked between both men and as soon as they both appeared from cover to fire I yelled out to Irish. "Now!"

Various shots rang out and the two men fell to the ground, the room once again going quiet. I lowered my gun and then looked around, standing up when I realized no one was left. Dunn nodded at Irish and I. "Nice one, Recker, Irish," We nodded back at him as he looked around the open atrium. "Let's keep going."

I began walking forward ahead of the group as Dunn contacted Valkyrie again. I stepped over a few more destroyed concrete structures towards a room with broken out windows. I stuck my gun through the door first, my head peeking around second. I went to take another step when gunfire rang out again, shattering what was left of the windows. I smashed myself up against the wall, looking around the frame at a few stragglers. I aimed my gun at a few of them, taking them down quickly. Gunfire shot through the window and took down the last of the men, Dunn sticking his head through the window and looking down at the bodies when the coast was clear. He looked up and then towards me, raising an eyebrow. I slowly met his gaze and then smiled. "Uh, my bad. Probably should have stayed with the group."

Dunn remained silent as Irish and Pac came up behind me, Irish reaching out to punch me in the back of the shoulder. "Good going. Nice shots, too."

He smirked at me as he walked past, Pac smiling broadly as he followed behind. I shot an annoyed glance after them as we all moved forward, this time as a group. We walked down another hallway towards a hole in the ground, all of us jumping through it into a small room in the basement.

"A dead end," Dunn walked up to the wall at the back of the enclosed room, reaching a hand out to feel over it. "The extraction point should be on the other side of this wall."

He stepped back and then looked at me, nodding. "Alright. Make it sing."

I smirked at his order and then reached back into a pack, grabbing some C4 and a detonator. I walked forward and planted the explosives on the wall, walking quickly back to the group.

"Fire in the hole!" I yelled out to the group before pressing my thumb into the button, turning my head as the wall exploded with a loud bang. Dust and small debris flew towards us and when the dust settled sunlight was pouring into the dim room.

"Wonderful. Let's go." Dunn took the lead once again and hopped over the now destroyed barrier out into an expanse of trees and brush. We moved forward until we came to a clearing on a ledge overlooking a vast area of completed and semi-complete skyscrapers.

"There should be a building towards the center. That's where our extraction point will be," Dunn looked over the buildings and then reached for a tactical visor attached to his vest, handing it towards me. "Recker, scan the area."

I nodded at him as I took the visor, kneeling down with the rest of the squad. I set my gun down by my side and slipped the visor over my eyes, turning it on. I looked out over the area and noticed a few hostiles patrolling a small area just in front of us. I brought my gaze to one of the center buildings, which happened to be a semi-complete structure, and got the extraction coordinates. "I found our target."

I flipped the visor up and looked over at Dunn, pointing in the direction of the building. The squad followed my finger and looked at the building, Dunn nodding and smiling. "Good. Let's try and get over there without attracting too much attention."

"That seems to be a problem recently." Pac made a face and chuckled as Dunn and Irish took the lead, sliding down the short drop from where we were perched. I looked at Pac and shook my head, walking towards the edge. "Maybe just for you. You seem to make the most noise and attract the most attention," I looked back before jumping down the ledge, holding a finger to my chin. "Or maybe they're just attracted to the smell of fresh medic."

I smirked at Pac's scowl and jumped down from the ledge, looking back up to find Pac jumping down. He landed next to me and frowned, pushing me with enough force to make me stumble. "Remember you said that the next time you have a bullet lodged in your chest and you can't breathe."

I frowned and followed behind Pac towards the cover that Irish and Dunn were stationed behind, hunching down to survey the three hostiles in front of us. I looked at the group and motioned to each one. "They're all stationed far enough apart that stealth will easily take care of them. If you guys stay here and cover me I can get it done."

Dunn looked over at me and nodded, raising a finger in the air and motioning in a circle. "Take points, gents. Recker will take the hostiles."

Dunn and Pac took to the left side as Irish and I moved to the right. I quickly started towards a hostile standing near a gate, staying hunched down and keeping a close eye on the two other hostiles. Irish took his place behind a piece of large pipe and nodded at me to move forward. I crept up behind the first hostile, pushing my gun to the side as I reached for my knife, unsheathing it and holding it at the ready. I walked up behind the man and slipped a hand over his mouth, bringing my knife quickly to his throat and shoving it in, twisting it a bit to make sure he wasn't going to get back up. The body struggled in my grip a bit as I slowly lowered it to the ground, unhinging the knife from his throat and then moving on.

Irish followed behind once again as I moved towards another hostile just to the left of the first. I moved quickly and overstepped a slight ledge, coming up behind the man and repeating the same actions. I slid the body to the ground and then moved towards the last. I walked swiftly up behind him and then froze immediately when he glanced behind him, whipping around towards me and shouting out something in Russian. He hit a button on a radio positioned on his collar, screaming into it as a bullet made its way through his head. I relaxed as the body fell to the ground and turned around to see Irish, Pac, and Dunn quickly running towards me.

"Did he call in backup?" Dunn looked at me and I shook my head. "I don't know. He was screaming in Russian, but if I could make a guess I would say he started to."

"That means be on alert. They could already be moving in-" A flurry of bullets whizzed past Dunn's head and we all ducked down, scattering to cover. I slammed my back against a concrete structure and peeked over it, seeing a group of hostiles making their way into the area on trucks.

"I've got you covered, Tombstone. Give me some targets." A voice came over the radio as a large helicopter flew overhead, kicking up dust as it flew towards the building where our extraction point was located.

"Nice timing, Firebird. Aim for the trucks just ahead of us." Dunn spoke into his radio and Firebird gave the okay, hovering just a few feet before the hostile group. Bullets rained down on the group, taking out all of the first wave of men.

"I'm picking up a lot more heat signatures heading your way. I'll keep you covered." Firebird took flight once again and flew higher above the area. Dunn stood up and threw his arm out in front of him. "Move now!"

Irish, Pac, and I all stood up and made a b-line for another group of large pipes that could be used for cover, skidding to a stop behind them as another wave of hostiles moved into the area. I peeked around the pipe and was met with a flurry of bullets hitting the pipe just next to my head, my body snapping back to cover behind the concrete structure. I looked to my left and saw Pac firing at the hostiles from behind a broken concrete blockade. I made the decision that he had the advantage from the side and from behind a more solid form of cover.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" I sprinted over to where Pac was positioned, bullets just missing my form. I jumped and skidded behind the cover Pac now had his back up against, slamming into him a bit as I stopped.

"Nice seeing you here." Pac looked at me and smirked, my head shaking in response.

"No time for pleasantries. We're in the middle of a gunfight." I smirked back at him before peeking over the concrete slab, firing towards a group of hostiles. Two of them went down and the other bolted for another location, Pac taking him down as he ran. Pac smirked and looked at me. "I'm almost as good a sharpshooter as you are now, Jess."

I looked at him and began to smile. My smile faltered when I saw another hostile running towards us from behind Pac, his gun up and ready. I grabbed the front of Pac's vest and pulled him towards me, holding my gun out behind him and firing a few rounds into the man. He fell to the ground lifeless as I sighed, sitting back on my butt as Pac stared over at the body.

"Jesus." He let out a breathy sigh of relief as he looked at me, my eyes going up towards the sky.

"Firebird, can you see the group in front of us?" I spoke into my radio as I darted my eyes around the sky looking for the helicopter.

"Already on it, Recker." Firebird could be heard descending from the sky, hovering once again in front of the group of hostiles. Bullets rained down and took out the remainder of the hostiles, leaving a clear path towards our extraction point. "I'll meet you at the top."

With that, Firebird took to the sky again, hovering around the top of the building. We all began moving quickly towards the building, continuously scanning the wide open area for more enemies. When we reached the building we slowed down a bit, heading towards a lift in the back of a hallway overrun by weeds and other plant life.

"This shit is the best way up?" Irish's voice rang out and broke the silence, the skepticism apparent in his voice.

"It's the fastest and we don't have time to explore any other options, Irish." Dunn slapped Irish on the back as he walked past him onto the lift, the rest of us filing in behind. Irish leaned over the railing and looked up, his face scrunching. "I can't wait to see the terrace view at the top."

Pac snorted and smirked from beside him. "I expect to be blown away."

"Shut up and keep your eyes peeled." Dunn glared at both of the men and hit the button on the wall, bringing the lift to life. The lift began to rise rather quickly as we all stared out at the open land where we were in a gunfight just moments ago.

"Tombstone, you got hostile air!" Firebird's voice once again lit up the radio and the panic that was present in the pilot's voice put all of us on guard, scanning the sky for a threat.

"Oh shit! Fuck!" Irish ducked down as a helicopter came into view and began firing at the lift we were positioned on. The rest of us followed Irish's lead and took cover behind the short walls of the lift, the sound of bullets hitting the metal buzzing in my ears. The sound between the helicopter and the gunfire was deafening, forcing us all to keep our heads down as rubble and debris began to rain down around us. The lift suddenly began to rock and then disconnected from the wires on one side, tilting the car and forcing us to slide out onto a higher floor.

"We're some lucky goddam bastards!" The entire lift disconnected from its wires and fell a few stories to the ground as Irish yelled out at us, motioning for us to move. "Get up, get up, get up!"

The rest of us scrambled to our feet and ran towards a staircase that led to another floor. The helicopter began shooting at us once more, bullets causing sparks as they hit metal beams in the small hallway we were running down.

"Fuck!" I felt a bullet graze the back of my thigh and I stumbled a bit, regaining my composure and keeping up a steady pace with the squad. We ran up the stairs and into a large room with windows, the helicopter keeping pace with us and hovering outside.

"I think this is the top floor!" Dunn yelled out over the noise of the gunfire, looking around and ducking behind some random structures. We all ducked down behind various structures as Firebird once again came over the radio. "Tombstone actual, where the hell are you!"

"Top floor, running!" Dunn screamed into his radio as an explosion rocked the building, causing a structure collapse on the far end of the room and leaving a makeshift ramp leading to the roof.

"Get to the roof!" Dunn yelled over the gunfire once again and we all made a run for the ramp, stumbling up towards the roof. The gunfire ceased for a moment as we emerged into open air, Firebird coming into view at the far end.

"Move, move, move!" Firebird yelled over the radio as we moved towards the helicopter, the sound of a second helicopter coming up on the left of us. The enemy helicopter hovered by us for a bit before moving towards Firebird, beginning to fire in their direction right before we reached it.

"Shit, get everyone in here now! The building's unstable!" Firebird's desperate voice rang out over the radio again as chaos reigned. The building began to shake below our feet and then collapsed slightly, forcing all of us to the ground. I slid forward towards Dunn as Firebird began to lose control. I stared up in panic as the propellers came down towards both of us, Firebird's panicked voice coming over the radio again. "Shit! Back up! Back up! I've lost control!"

Firebird got aligned just as it neared Dunn and I, flying over our heads with the enemy chopper right behind her. A large pillar creaked as it fell towards the building we were on, crashing into it and forcing the ground beneath us to collapse and drop all of us down to the floor below.

"The building is going fucking down!" Dunn screamed towards me as the floor collapsed once again, my body sliding on a slant towards the edge of the building. I attempted to grab at something to hold on to, but failed continuing to slide. I slid towards Dunn and he reached out towards me, my hand making a grab for his and missing. I slid uncontrollably towards the edge of the building and went over, grabbing the edge at the last minute and hanging on. I stared at the ground below me as my breathing got heavier, looking up just in time to see Dunn sliding off the edge. I made a grab for him with my free hand and caught his hand. My arm strained to hold his weight above the ground below and I let out a cry of pain, looking up through watery eyes as a few concrete slabs began sliding towards me.

My eyes went wide as the slabs hit the edge of the building and bounced off, chipping off the part that I was holding on to. My body fell backwards and Dunn's hand slipped from mine, both of us falling a few stories to the ground as concrete rained down above us.

An explosion lit up above me before the world went black.


	2. A Moment In Chaos

"Holy shit."

I cracked my eyes open when I heard a voice and squinted at the light around me. I blinked a few times before groaning, opening my eyes fully to take in where I was. A large slab of concrete was positioned on top of my body, but left just enough of a space at the bottom where I could see Irish coming towards me.

"Hold on, Reck," Irish grabbed for the slab, placing his hands underneath it. "Pac, any sign of Hawkins or the rest of the crew?"

"No one survived that!" I heard Pac's voice from somewhere nearby, but couldn't see him.

"Get Dunn away from the wreckage!" Irish yelled out towards Pac, motioning towards the direction I imagined Pac was in.

"I can't he's buried!" I listened to the panic and distress in Pac's voice and then felt my face fall. Dunn was buried.

"Try to get him out. I'm over here digging up Recker." Irish's voice took on a more calming tone, attempting to calm Pac in the process. I looked up at Irish again to see him grab the slab, lifting it with a grunt and then pushing it off to the side. He reached a hand out towards me and I grabbed it, allowing him to help lift me to my feet. When I stood I looked down at my body, assessing what damage I had or didn't have.

"Oh man, oh man…" I heard Pac's voice again and looked to my right, seeing him kneeling over Dunn who was pinned under a heavy slab of concrete.

"Jesus Christ, his leg looks like a popped sausage…" Irish walked over towards them and I cast my eyes down Dunn's body towards his legs when Irish said that. My stomach turned at the sight of Dunn's right leg, bloody and deformed, underneath the slab. I walked quickly over to where they were positioned and kneeled down on the other side of Dunn, reaching out for his hand that was reaching for the air. He looked at me when I grabbed it, his conscious seemingly still disoriented.

"You're going to be fine, Dunn. We're going to get you out." Pac's voice was desperate as his eyes darted between Dunn's body and the concrete slab, trying to find an easy way to get Dunn out of his situation by causing the least bit of distress. I watched Pac stand up and quickly walk over to a pile of iron rods, grabbing one and then walking back over to Dunn. He shoved one end of the rod under the slab and tried to get leverage on it, poking it in different spots with the same failed result.

"Stop!" Irish's voice caught my attention and I looked behind me, seeing Irish yelling towards a car coming towards us. "Recker cover me!"

I let go of Dunn's hand and walked over towards the car, swinging my gun around from my back to the ready. Irish walked over towards the driver's side window, tapping on the glass with his gun. "Get out! Get out of here now!"

Irish and I both aimed our guns at the man as he exited the car, his arms raised above his head as he moved towards Irish. "Please! I help you, please!"

"No, you have to get out of here! Now!" Irish shoved his gun toward the man and he turned to run off. Irish shook his head and turned back to me. "Fucking civilians…"

"He was trying to help." I lowered my gun and looked towards Irish, seeing him shake his head once more and walk back over towards Pac and Dunn.

"Recker I need your knife…" I heard Dunn's strained voice and I walked quickly back over towards him, kneeling down again.

"What for, Staff Sergeant?" Pac looked down at Dunn who kept his gaze on me, his hand reaching up again.

"We have to cut the leg..." Dunn looked hard at me as I stared at him. He nodded at me after a few moments and then looked between Pac, Irish, and myself. "A wolf in a trap will chew its own leg off to survive…"

I held on to Dunn's hand and placed a hand over his vest, seeing him yell towards me once again, this time with more authority present in his voice. "Come on! The bone's powder! It's just flesh and uniform keeping me here!"

I looked up at Pac to see him staring at me before I grabbed my knife, moving down towards Dunn's injured leg. I held the knife out in front of me and then looked back towards Dunn and Pac, seeing that Pac was now holding tight to Dunn's hand.

"Do it now!" Dunn yelled towards me and then put his head back. I brought my eyes back to the leg and brought the knife down. I felt the knife slice through what was left of tendon, bone, and flesh in his leg. A cry of pain sounded from Dunn and I cringed, throwing the knife to the side as soon as it had done its job.

"We have to go." Irish bent down on the other side of Dunn and grabbed underneath his armpit in an attempt to lift him up. Pac hesitated a moment when Dunn didn't respond to his shake, looking up between Irish and I. "Is he dead?"

"He's not dead, just passed out," Irish tried to reassure Pac as he began lightly dragging Dunn's limp body towards the car. "You're the combat lifesaver, man. You should know this, Pac."

Pac stared after Irish as he dragged the body, seemingly unsure of what to do. I reached a hand out towards Pac who just looked up at me. "Come on, man. We have to go."

He grabbed my hand and I pulled him to his feet, following after Irish towards the car where he was now pushing Dunn's body into the backseat. I looked back at Pac to see him mumbling to himself, looking around the area. "It was a three hour course…"

There was a sudden explosion to the left of us and it threw me off my feet. I groaned and rubbed the elbow that I had landed on, looking up to see the enemy chopper had made its way back to us.

"Let's go, let's go!" Irish was now screaming at everyone as he got into the passenger's seat of the car with Pac scooting into the backseat next to Dunn. I ran around to the driver's side and got in, slamming the door behind me and starting the car. I slammed my foot on the gas and the car jumped forward.

"Fortress, this is Tombstone actual. We need another escape route. Do you copy?" Irish spoke into his radio as I drove the car back through the area where our first battle took place.

"Tombstone, we're tracking you. There is another extraction point close to your location. Keep following the road three clicks west." I nodded at Irish when he looked at me, turning the car onto the main road with a loud screech.

"Oh shit, my leg. My wife's going to kill me." Dunn's groggy voice sounded from the backseat and I brought my gaze to the rearview mirror, seeing him attempting to sit up.

"Stay down, Staff Sergeant." Pac placed his hands on Dunn's vest, pushing him back down into the seat.

"Where's the chopper?" Irish looked at me and I leaned forward to look at the sky above the car. "I don't know-"

As soon as the sentence left my mouth a row of explosions lit up the road in front of us. I swerved the car around the fiery aftermath and kept going, Irish reaching for his RPG. "We're going to need this."

"Can we shake it?" Pac leaned forward and placed his hands on the back of both mine and Irish's seats, looking between us. Irish glanced back at him. "Not fucking likely."

A short tunnel ahead gave us a brief moment of cover, but when we came out through the other side the chopper was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you see it? Where the fuck did it go?" I darted my eyes around the sky and the road in front of me. I kept driving, pushing my foot down farther on the gas to speed up in an attempt to outrun the chopper, which I knew was just a stupid thought.

"There it is! Get ready!" Irish pointed a finger in front of him, my eyes going towards the direction and seeing the chopper hover down above the ground right in front of us. It shot at us a few times before I sped up more, rushing towards it and forcing it to pull away to the left of us.

"That was too close." Pac looked out of the window to his left as Irish held on tight to the RPG in his lap. Not soon after, the chopper was back in front of us and laying down fire. I dodged a bullet that crashed through the glass towards my head, looking up just in time to see another large explosion erupt right in front of the car. I swerved again and felt Irish grab the wheel in an attempt to steady the car. I leaned to my left and felt the driver's door give way, my hand reaching up in a desperate motion to grab the doorframe. Irish looked over at me as he kept his hand on the steering wheel, handing over the RPG. "Burn those motherfuckers!"

I nodded at him as I grabbed the RPG, holding it in my right hand and focusing it on the chopper that was behind us now. I steadied my aim and then took a shot, hitting the belly of the chopper as it flew back over us. It lost control and crashed in a heap right in front of the car.

"Son of a bitch!" I hauled myself back into the car as it began to lose control, both of my hands grabbing the wheel in an attempt to get back in control. The car swerved off of the road and towards the edge of land. I braced myself as the car hit a ditch, flipping itself over and rolling once before plunging headfirst into the ocean.

* * *

><p><em>Turn around. Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round. Turn around…<em>

I cracked my eyes open and placed a hand to my forehead. I heard the beginning of the song _Total Eclipse of the Heart_ coming through the speakers of the car and I wondered when we had turned the radio on. I sat up straighter and opened my eyes completely, looking around and realizing we were still in the car. Only this time we were upside down underwater.

"Man…I don't want to die to this song…" I looked to my left and saw Pac staring at the radio from the backseat. Next to him was Dunn, pinned in place by the passenger's seat. He looked at me and cracked a subtle grin. "Hey, Irish. Do you know what kind of fish they have in Baku?"

I looked over at Irish who was still next to me and he looked at Dunn, shaking his head. "Negative, Staff Sergeant."

I felt a wave of what felt like nausea wash over me and I closed my eyes, a hand grabbing my shoulder and shaking me back awake. I stared at Irish as he searched my face. "You conscious, Recker? Stay with me."

I nodded quickly at him as he retracted his hand. I brought my eyes back to Dunn, watching him attempting to shift his position underneath the seat. "Nice play, Recker. That was some of the finest driving I have ever seen. Right there until the end," Dunn's eyes cast upward onto Pac. "Hit the light, Pac."

Pac reached a hand out and hit the light switch in the middle of the car, illuminating the inside.

"This seat won't budge. You're pinned in, Staff Sergeant." Irish shook the seat he was seated on and huffed, Pac looking at him and reaching a hand out to help.

"The last thing we would want to do in a situation like this is panic, Irish." Dunn spoke to irish calmly, placing his hands over his chest.

"When you speak like that, man, you scare the crap out of me…" Irish made a face at Dunn, continuing to shake the seat gently in an attempt to break it free. "We'll get you free, Dunn, you hear me?"

Irish shook the seat harder this time. It still wouldn't budge as Irish swore under his breath. I brought my attention back to Pac, seeing him jiggling the door handle. "How are we going to get out? The doors are jammed shut."

Irish looked up at Pac and then at the door he was still attempting to open. "Shit…"

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen Irish," Irish and I both looked back at Dunn to see him reaching around for his pistol, handing it out in front of him. "Recker, take my gun. It's yours now."

I reached a tentative hand out and took it, staring at Dunn. Irish looked between Dunn and I, shaking his head. "What are you thinking, Dunn? What the fuck are you thinking?"

"For the wolf to survive it's got to chew off its own leg," Dunn looked straight at me as I repositioned the gun in my right hand, unsure of what he was going to say next. "Fire! Break the windshield!"

I felt a hand roughly grab my right arm and I looked at a panicked Irish. "Negative! Don't do it!"

"Now, Recker! Shoot out the window!" Dunn's voice rose in an authoritative tone, his right fist slamming into the back of the seat he was pinned under. "That's an order!"

I stared at Dunn for a moment before nodding my head, turning back to the windshield and holding the gun out in front of me.

"Don't you fucking do it, Recker!" Irish's voice broke into my conscious and I looked at him, my face going grim and angry. "What choice do we have, Irish?"

"You save yourselves. Get the hell out of here…" Dunn voiced his last words and I looked at Irish before turning to the windshield, firing one round into the glass. The initial sound was loud, but was then drowned out by rushing water. The rest of the glass cracked under the pressure and I held my breath just as the water took over the interior of the car. I opened my eyes to see dark, murky water all around me. I felt a hand push on my back and looked behind me to see Pac motioning for me to go. I nodded at him before swimming out through the front windshield and then in a general upward direction. I saw the smallest amount of light coming through the surface of the water and I kicked my legs and arms as fast as I could. When I surfaced I took in a large gulp of air, sputtering and choking in the process. I gasped for air as I looked around, seeing a hand reaching down towards me.

"Sergeant Recker." I looked up at the owner of the hand and saw it was Irish on a rescue boat. I stared at him for a moment before grabbing his hand, allowing him to pull me into the boat. I coughed a few more times as I leaned on all fours on the solid ground of the boat, my eyes darting back up and around the boat. I crawled quickly to the edge of the boat and scanned over the surface of the water. "Where's Pac? He was right behind me!"

"Calm down, Reck. I'm sure he's fine." Irish grabbed my hand and hauled me to my feet, my eyes never leaving the water. A few moments passed before a large splash sounded from a few feet away, Pac's struggling form emerging from the water. One of the marines next to me reached a hand forward to pull Pac in and I moved towards him, pushing him out of the way as I leaned down and held a hand out. "Pac!"

He looked over towards me and coughed, beginning to swim towards the boat. When he reached me he grabbed my hand, my other hand reaching out to grab the back of his vest. I pulled him forward and out of the water, the weight of his soaking wet gear too much for me and forcing us both to fall backwards. He landed hard on top of my chest and I groaned, his own form beginning to cough up the rest of the water he had accidentally swallowed.

"Jesus, man, are you okay?" Irish walked over to us and pulled Pac's body off of mine, sitting him up. Pac looked up at Irish and nodded, his gaze coming back to mine as I sat up on my butt. He placed a hand on my knee and patted, cracking a smirk. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Don't ever make me think you drowned ever again and we can call it even." I shook my head at him and smiled back, placing my arms on the top of my knees to catch my breath.

"Ah, Tombstone!" All three of us turned our attention towards Captain Garrison who was coming towards us. A broad, relieved smile was present on his face as he looked between all three of us. "We have much to discuss, but after seeing the condition of all of you, I'll let you get some rest first."

A sigh of relief made its way from my mouth and I saw Pac and Irish doing the same, their gazes turning towards the ground. I leaned back against the side of the rescue boat as it made its way quickly back towards our home ship, the Valkyrie. I leaned my head back and stared at the water, all of the previous events replaying in a blur through my mind.

* * *

><p>The bathroom on the warship was small and cramped, but I was just glad to get a break from combat even if it was only for a little while. I leaned over the sink, my hands gripping the sides of the counter. I felt parts of my body yelling at me in pain and I obliged them, cringing every so often. The back of my left thigh where the helicopter bullet had grazed me still oozed blood every once in a while, the wound seemingly unwilling to heal itself.<p>

I looked up into the mirror and stared at my reflection. My face had the look of someone who had been in, and seen, hell. A subtle jagged scar made its way through my left eyebrow and the hair refused to grow back in the spot, leaving a small, hairless line through the darkness. I sighed and reached a hand back, curling my fingers around the elastic in my hair and setting it free, feeling it tumble down around my shoulders and stopping just above my chest. The wavy, dark brown tresses sat in layers around my face and I kept it longer than the military would like, mostly because I didn't care to cut it regularly.

I stood up straight and reached up into my hair, curling my hands into it and then shaking it out. Looking into the mirror I could almost recognize myself again. The same blue eyes stared back, but they were more icy than they ever had been. The striking dark blue was replaced with a whitish blue tint. Sooner or later they would be void of color from all of the war.

I pushed myself away from the mirror and pulled on a black t-shirt, deciding it would probably be a good idea to get out of the confines of the bunkers and head out to fresh air. I made my way down the winding hallways of the ship, attempting to find the cafeteria. After what seemed like forever, I stumbled upon the open area and walked in. Seeing there were only a few people stationed around, I took a seat at one of the tables in the back and laid my right cheek against the cool metal of the table, my hair falling around my face like a thick curtain.

"Jesus. I hate to say this, Jess, but you're starting to look like crap." My light rest was interrupted suddenly by Pac, his voice ringing through my ears. I sighed and raised my head from the table, brushing my hair away from my face and looking at him. He had his head cocked to one side and his face held a concerned look.

"You always knew how to charm people." I shot a look up at him as he moved to sit down on the other side of the table, setting down a mug.

"Oh, you know…all I have to do is use my good looks." Pac shot me a wide grin and I snorted, placing a hand under my chin and looking at him. He chuckled and pushed the mug toward me, adjusting the beanie on his head. "You look like you need this more than I do."

I looked into the mug and realized it was coffee, the steam still rising. I shook my head and pushed it back towards him. "No, you drink it. I was never a fan of the stuff."

Pac grabbed for the mug and raised it to his mouth, cocking an eyebrow at me. "Not a coffee drinker? You sure you're a marine? That's pretty much all we have on this ship."

I smiled at the comment as I brought my left leg up to my chin, the wound on the back of my thigh stinging again. "I'm going to need you to check out a wound on the back of my leg."

Pac looked at me as he set the mug down on the table. "Sure. Is it healing at all?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. However, we were still in the middle of heavy combat so I wasn't able to sit down and even tend to it."

I shrugged as he listened to me. He grinned at me once more. "You were never one to actually slow down, you know. You could have had a leg blown off and a hand severed and you would have said, 'Aye, it's just a flesh wound!'"

I laughed at Pac's impersonation, slipping my left leg back to the floor. I looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "I wouldn't say something like that."

He laughed loudly. "Be real here, Jess. Out of you, Irish, and myself, Irish and I would be back on the battlefield nursing our missing limbs and you would be crawling towards an enemy with your gun raised, smacking them in the back of the legs to fight you."

I stared at him for a moment, realizing that I would actually do something like that. I always felt like I needed to prove something. I didn't know what that something was, but I just knew it was there. I groaned and laid my cheek back to the table, my hair tumbling down around my face again. "I would do that, wouldn't I?"

Pac just chuckled as he reached a hand forward, brushing the hair out of my face and placing a hand on the side of my cheek, patting. "It's okay. It's very…formidable?"

I groaned again and Pac laughed.

* * *

><p>"Okay, where is it?" Pac spread out a small medical box on one of the cots in the medical wing, his gaze shooting towards me as I stood by the cot.<p>

"The back of my left thigh." He nodded at me and then turned his back, gathering up gauze, bandages, and a few other supplies. I kicked off my boots and then reached down to undo the belt on my military pants, pulling them down and off. I set them on the cot just as Pac turned around, his eyes going wide as he looked at my legs. He tore his gaze away from my legs as I cocked an eyebrow at him, a cough sounding in his throat. "A little warning next time."

"What? You've never seen these ugly military briefs before?" I wrapped my fingers around the edges of the black briefs and pulled, slapping the fabric against my thighs as I laughed loudly at Pac's reaction. He shook his head and set the supplies he was holding down on the cot, sitting on one of the small rolling chairs. "Yes, I have seen those before, but it's just that I was supposed to tell you when you take your pants off."

"You want to be in charge?" I looked at him as the gears in his head began to turn, his face falling. He rubbed a hand over his face and groaned, his overall demeanor seeming flustered at this point and I was enjoying every last second of it. Afterall, Pac always seemed like the kind of guy that was too innocent and too kind to other people for his own good. It was like he accidentally signed up for the war when he was trying to sign up for the local church bake sale.

"Jess," He placed a closed fist against the side of his head as he leaned his arm against the cot, a subtle smile returning to his face. "Please just show me where the wound is."

I rolled my eyes and mock-sighed, turning around and pointing in the general direction of the wound. I heard the wheels of the chair squeak against the floor as Pac rolled closer. "You did some damage to it when you didn't stop to put pressure on it. You'll live, though."

"Good to know." I crossed my arms and looked around the hospital portion of the boat, watching as some of the other medical personnel tended to the wounded. A burning liquid seeped through the back of my thigh and I hissed, hearing Pac chuckle from behind me as he pressed a bandage against the wound. He tapped the bandage against the wound a few times before taking it off, placing a brand new bandage in its place and taping it on. "All done."

I reached around to feel where the new bandage was and nodded to myself, reaching for my pants. I pulled them on and buckled them before reaching for my boots, sticking them on one at a time as I watched Pac put away the last of the supplies. "Thanks for patching me up."

Pac looked over at me and shook his head. "That's my job."

"For taking a three hour course, you aren't half bad," I grinned at Pac as he crossed his arms, walking forward. "We'll just have to teach you how to aim a gun for a headshot."

"You know, you're the only one that has been really mean to me during my time in the marines." Pac cocked an eyebrow at me as I chuckled.

"And that seems to be my job. It toughens you up a bit. Gives you some thick skin." I reached up and snatched the beanie from his head, placing it down onto my own head and smoothing my hair out around it. He glared at me and reached a hand up, running it through his dark hair. "I really hope it's working for my sake then."

I grinned at him. "I think it is. I mean, we almost have you swearing now."

He chuckled along with me and then crossed his arms again, looking at me. "Remember when we would always have some time where it was just us back in our training days? We don't get that nowadays with all of the saving the fate of the world and whatnot."

I smiled and brought my gaze to the floor, remembering all that Pac and I had been through since our rookie days. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked back up, meeting Pac's gaze as he looked at me with a grin. "You promise we'll always have each other's backs?"

I looked at him and then grinned back, placing a hand back on his shoulder. "Unfortunately you're stuck with me in a team. We'll be together forever, young one."

"Jess, I'm a year older than you." He shot me a look and I glared at him. "Don't ruin the moment. We were having a moment for once in all this chaos."

He laughed once before nodding. "Together forever."


	3. Shanghai Bound

**First I would like to apologize for the time it took to get this out. Blame my decision to post this story around the holiday's. :p**

**I promise the next chapter will not take as long as this one did, and I hope you enjoy! As always, I love to hear feedback!**

* * *

><p>"I would first like to congratulate all of you on retrieving the intelligence we needed."<p>

Captain Garrison's eyes scanned over all of our forms, a smile present on his face for our accomplishment. His demeanor then turned a bit glum, casting his gaze to the floor. "Although…it was not without loss."

Irish and Pac's gazes went downward as I just stared at Garrison, grabbing for the braid that was hanging down my back and bringing it over my right shoulder. The image of seeing Dunn helpless in that car was never going to fade. It was going to be burned into my mind forever.

Garrison coughed and caught the attention of all three of us, our gazes returning to him. "Now, to the task at hand. People are pretty pissed off about the assassination of Jin Jie'."

Pac's face scrunched in subtle confusion. "Who was he exactly, Sir?"

"He was in line for the presidency in China. He pushed the government for transparency, fairness, and freedom of speech," Garrison looked between all three of us as he talked, crossing his arms. "Admiral Chang did a pretty good job of convincing more than a few people that we killed Mr. J. If your operation blows up, Chang will have the excuse he needs to give all that anger and all that hate a target."

Garrison stood from his leaning position against one of the tables in the briefing room, uncrossing his arms. "It'll be war. Your job right now is to pull VIP's out of the Zhi You Towers safe and sound," He raised a hand and pointed at all of us with the utmost serious expression. "Unless absolutely necessary, do not fire your weapons."

We all nodded at him as he continued, turning his attention to me. "Recker, Sergeant Dunn felt you were the one to lead the team- give orders if anything happened to him. His loss is tragic to say the least…"

Garrison trailed off a bit as I glanced over at Pac and Irish to see them both looking at me. I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I looked back to Garrison, seeing his eyes were now locked on mine. "Don't make me regret honoring his last decision. Do the right thing. Fly under the radar."

"Sir." I nodded at Garrison as he retracted his hand, turning around towards various laptops to prep for the mission ahead. "No room for mistakes here. We'll get you a boat and get you into the city. Dismissed."

Irish and Pac turned to leave and I followed them out of the room, still in a bit of shock over hearing Dunn entrusted me with leading the team. I kept my gaze down as I walked and hadn't realized Pac had slowed his step until I bumped into the back of him. He glanced over his shoulder at me as I looked up at him, a hand reaching up towards the braid spread over my right shoulder to smooth it out. When I didn't say anything to him he sighed and turned around to face me, his hands reaching out to grab my shoulders. "Dunn entrusted _you_ as the leader of this team for a reason and _you_ have to trust that decision."

Pac looked at me as Irish walked up behind him to stand at his side. He nodded and placed a hand on my arm. "I trust his decision and I trust you with my life, Reck. I mean, shit, Pac and I would have been the wrong choices for the job."

Pac shot a look back at Irish before turning back to me, removing his hands from my shoulders and crossing them over his chest. "He's right. You run towards chaos and destruction while Irish and I would rather run in the opposite direction."

Irish nodded from behind Pac and I looked between them, a small smile making its way to my face. "To know you guys would entrust your own lives to me really means a lot," My confident smirk made its way back to my face and I held my arms out to the side. "I won't let you down, boys. I look forward to telling you what to do without question."

Pac smiled as Irish laughed loudly, knocking Pac out of the way to punch me in the shoulder. "That's the Recker I know. You cocky motherfucker!"

Irish continued to laugh as he began walking back down the corridor, leaving Pac and I to watch after him. Pac turned back to me and then rolled his eyes when he heard Irish's distant laugh still echoing through the corridors. "Jesus, does he have a mouth on him…"

"That's what gives him personality." I shrugged at Pac's comment and he looked down at me, crossing his arms before leaning against the wall. He cocked his head to the side as another marine made his way past us. "What's the deal with the uncertainty? I mean, the Recker I always knew would have jumped at the challenge of team leader and possibly abused it," He looked around the halls of the corridor and then kept his voice low, leaning closer to me. "Was it your mom?"

I stared up at him and then grit my teeth, the memories of my childhood flooding back into my mind. I went back to the period of time when my mother would force me to be a _proper lady. _She had an obsession with beauty pageants and the idea of having the perfect, womanly daughter; one that had manners and never spoke out of line or with vulgar language. Think back to when women pretty much had minimal rights and you may get the picture that I'm trying to paint here. All my mother really wanted to do was parade me around as a figure of beauty. She wanted me to get married, have a ton of kids, and be a stay at home mother just like she was.

Maybe that's why my father had walked out on her. Her twisted sense of reality was just too much for him, so one day he just up and left her. And me. He left me alone to endure years of torture with that woman. Years of torture with classes on proper etiquette. Years of torture parading around on a stage, smiling some serial killer fake smile to win some plastic crown and a trophy just so my mother could boast about it to all the other pageant mothers. I hated her for it. _Hated her._

"Something like that." I cast my eyes to the floor as I answered Pac simply. I had never told him about what my mother had put me through, just that she would call me obscene names when I didn't meet her standards. Her years of torturous obscenity finally forced me to crack and I rebelled when I was twenty. I died my hair from its sickly bleached blonde to a very dark brown. I cussed like a sailor. I began wearing harsher clothes; ripped jeans, black shirts, combat boots, anything that would make her hate me as much as I hated her. Then I dropped the biggest bomb on her by telling her I was joining the marines. This shattered her world. I didn't care anymore. Getting away from her and any memory of the childhood I ever had was one of the greatest things I could ever do with my life. The marines gave me a sense of purpose- a sense of belonging.

Pac nodded at me and didn't push the subject any further, turning around and then motioning for me to follow him. "Let's go find Irish and then head into the city. I'm sure the VIP's can't wait to see us."

* * *

><p>"Ew…Soccer-delivery van hybrid." I reached a hand out and poked the white van with my pointer finger, retracting it quickly in repulsion as I grimaced. I knew we had to stay under the radar and all, but putting us in the ugliest car in the world was just wrong.<p>

"You know, inanimate objects may have feelings, too, Jess." Pac made a face as he walked up behind me, shaking out a beanie in his hand. I looked back at him and frowned, letting out a sigh like a bratty child. "I don't caaaaaare. This van is shit."

"You do know that the appearance of the van doesn't affect the reason we're here, right? We still have VIP's to rescue." Irish looked at me with annoyance written all over his face. Annoyance over the fact that it was raining and the fact that I was now worried about the look of our transportation.

"I know the mission. Doesn't mean we can't have some sort of light-hearted conversation, right Mr. Mood Killer?" I looked back at Irish and made a face, a sigh escaping his lips as he leaned back against the van and closed his eyes. I shook my head a bit before I felt Pac gently slide a beanie over my head, his fingers pushing the stray hairs away from my face. His hands then slid down the length of my hair and smoothed it around my shoulders. He stood back to inspect his work and nodded, reaching a hand around to pat himself on the back. "Good work, self. Now we look like civilians."

"Yes, we all look fucking beautiful. Can we get a move on?" Irish's annoyed tone brought a small smile to my face as I adjusted the black long-sleeved shirt I wore under a leather bomber jacket. All of us were in street garb for this mission and it felt good to not have to carry around multitudes of heavy artillery and a bulletproof vest, even if it was risky without them. The only guns we would have were hidden in a backpack strapped to Pac's back.

"Yeah, yeah…" Pac waved a hand in Irish's general direction and then walked towards the van, myself following behind him. I slid open the door for the back of the van and then frowned, looking up towards the sky for a moment when I realized there was no backseat. "Are you fucking kidding me? All I've been doing is fucking squatting for the past week and a half, then when I finally might have a chance to rest my ass on a mission there's no backseat."

"Ah, gee. That's a shame." I sent a glare in Pac's direction as he slid into the passenger's seat next to Irish. I groaned lightly once and then hopped up into the back of the van, sliding the door shut behind me. I squatted down and placed my hands on the seats in front of me to steady myself as Irish started the engine. He slowly pulled out of the large parking garage and onto the busy streets of Shanghai towards the Zhi You Towers.

"I hope nothing happens to the car." Pac looked around at the cars trying to push forward around us. He flinched as one flew past us and almost took off the right side of the van. I watched this happen and rolled my eyes. "I think any kind of fender-bender or scratch would be an improvement."

Pac glanced back at me as Irish looked at me through the rearview mirror, his gaze landing back on the road. "Relax, little brother. We're gonna be alright."

I felt the van speed up a bit as the road cleared, Irish pushing down harder on the gas pedal. Pac looked at the surroundings going past and then glanced at Irish, his face grim. "Did you call Dunn's wife?"

Irish glanced at him. "Haven't gotten around to that, Pac. I mean, what am I supposed to say? It's not like he died a peaceful death and I'm not going to lie about it."

Pac nodded lightly at Irish before turning his attention back to the road, just in time to see a woman and her child run out in front of us. "Irish!"

I felt my body tense as Irish slammed his foot on the brake, stopping the van inches from the woman and child. I slammed onto my butt in the back of the van and groaned, reaching a hand back to rub where the impact had bruised. I heard the woman yell something in Chinese at Irish before running off. Irish watched her and then held a hand up. "Sorry miss!"

Pac looked back at me and chuckled. "You okay?"

I waved him off and scooted forward, hauling myself back into a squatting position. "I'm good."

The van once again jerked forward as Irish continued to drive, a cop car speeding past us. Irish watched it go by and then shook his head. "I swear, this shit is all fucked up. Cops all jittery. We're just gonna drive through this shitstorm and pick up the prize, right?"

"Waltz through the raindrops. Right, Jess?" Pac looked back at me as Irish glanced at me in the rearview mirror, my head nodding in response. "That's the plan."

I saw Irish give a small smile for the first time since we started this mission as he turned his attention back to the road. "I could sure go for a cup of coffee right now."

"I could go for a Red Bull or a Monster…some kind of energy drink," I sighed, thinking about how all we had to drink was either coffee or water. "I could drink eight of those things and not feel a thing. Being in the sun all day…I think I'm immune to caffeine."

Pac snorted and I smiled. "I would really like to get my hands on a bunch of Red Bull's just to test that theory," Pac's attention turned to a truck making its way onto the road in front of us. "Motorized infantry on the scene."

The large truck pulled out in front of us and Irish pushed down on the break, coming to a slight stop as the truck continued on. A group of military personnel could be seen sitting in the back of the truck. Irish looked between Pac and I as he pushed down on the gas again after a moment, keeping his attention on the truck. "I think these motherfuckers are eyeballing me."

"Just act natural." Pac looked between Irish and the truck, a snort sounding from Irish. "Act natural. You hear that shit, Reck? What the fuck, I look Chinese to you?"

Irish shot a look at Pac who just turned his attention back to the road. "Anybody got a visual on the building?"

Irish shook his head at Pac's attempt to change the subject. "We're not going anywhere unless you get me a way outta this."

The van pulled up on a military checkpoint and Irish paused for a moment, looking for a way around it. Pac pointed to the left at a side road. "Okay, make a left. Left here."

Irish obliged and turned the van sharply onto the street, continuing to drive. A large building could be seen off in the distance and Pac smiled, pointing at it. "I've got a visual on the building," He looked back at me as I looked through the windshield at the tower. "What floor are we going to? And how many visuals did Garrison say? Three with Kovic?"

His voice was a bit rushed and I placed a hand to his shoulder. "Calm down. Kovic and two locals."

I replaced my hand to the back of his seat and watched as Irish turned right onto another street. Various fires were flaring up all around the area and people were running around. The van shook slightly when someone slammed their fists into the side of it and I looked to the right, seeing someone waving a handgun at us. Pac looked through the window at them as Irish kept driving. "Oh, man. Hey! Easy, easy. Calm down!"

A few more individuals with handguns could be seen standing and blocking the road in front of us as Pac let out a groan, pointing to a road on the left. "We have to make a left. The building's on the left."

"Okay." Irish answered Pac and then sharply turned the van to the left just as a bullet smashed through the windshield. The van swerved a bit before crashing between two walls of an alley. The force of the crash knocked me off balance again and I fell backwards, sliding towards the back of the van and hitting my head softly on the back doors.

"Shit, we're stuck. We gotta leave the van, guys. Continue on foot." Irish slammed his hands against the steering wheel in frustration, turning the van off and then opening his door to get out. Pac followed behind and got out, sliding open the doors to the back of the van. He poked his head in and looked at me, reaching a hand out. "Come on, Jess."

I got to my feet and quickly made my way to Pac, grabbing his hand as he helped me out of the back of the van, sliding the door shut as soon as my feet hit the ground. I walked up behind Irish and heard Pac sigh from behind me, looking back at him. He looked over the damage to the van and made a face. "Oh, man. The car…"

I shook my head and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, pulling him forward. "Could you not with the damn van right now? We have more important things to worry about."

All three of us took off in a run towards the general direction of the tower. We ran into a back alleyway and looked around, looking for a way out. I looked down another alley and shook my head, looking back at Pac and Irish. "Dead end over here."

Irish sighed as Pac walked over towards a locked gate, giving it a good shake.

"It's locked, Pac." Irish looked over at Pac as he shook it again, squatting down to come eye level with the lock. "I think I got this."

I walked over to stand next to Irish as Pac began picking the lock. If there was one thing Pac was good at it was picking locks. After a few moments, Pac stood straight and shook the door, letting it swing open. He looked back at us and held an arm forward. "After you."

I grinned and walked forward through the gate with Irish behind me. "Nice one."

Pac smirked and picked up the pace behind us, looking around at all of the buildings in the surrounding area. "What are we gonna do? Running in on foot is one thing. Getting out with VIP's is another."

"Leave it to me, Pac. I'll get them out safe and sound, don't you worry." Irish slowed his pace to match Pac's, slapping him on the back in reassurance. I kept up the lead pace of the group and jogged up to a dead end, noticing a yellow ladder leading up to the rooftops. "I think we can use this to get a bird's eye view of the tower."

I looked behind me at Pac and Irish as they nodded, Irish motioning for me to go first. "Ladies first."

"You only say that because it'll put you in a good position for a good view. Don't stare at my ass on the way up." I made an unimpressed face at Irish as he laughed, Pac looking at the ground and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Can't get one past you, Reck." I smirked at Irish before grabbing onto the ladder, quickly making my way up to the rooftop with Irish and Pac behind me. When I reached the top I walked towards the railing, seeing the tower off in the distance with various groups of military force surrounding the entrance.

"That helo does not bode well…" Pac walked up to the railing to the right of me as a helicopter flew over us towards the tower. I frowned from beside him as I surveyed the scene, Irish coming into the view to my left. "Shit. Brief said nothing about Chinese spec ops."

"Just means we'll have to go in a bit quieter. All stealthily." I smirked to myself as I watched the forces on the ground communicate with the two helo's hovering overhead. Irish shook his head from beside me and cracked a smile. "You always get too excited about the possibility of stealth on a mission."

"Makes me feel all James Bond-like." I laughed once along with Irish before turning away from the railing towards another ladder leading towards the ground. "We should get over there."

I quickly made my way down the ladder and leaned behind the brick wall to survey the area just in front of me, surprisingly seeing that no one was keeping watch over the street in front of the tower.

"Uh, seems weird that no one's over here, right? I'm not the only one that thinks this?" Pac looked out into the street and moved to cover behind a car, shooting me a look.

"Doesn't seem like they care that much if they leave a wide area unattended like this." I nodded at Pac as Irish and I moved towards Pac's position, all three of us continuing quickly and quietly towards the tower.

"If the spooks missed this, they may have missed other stuff. We have to let Valkyrie know." Irish spoke from behind me and I nodded, poking Pac in the shoulder. "Send them the message."

Pac nodded as we continued towards the tower, lowering his mouth to the radio on his jacket. "Fortress, Tombstone 4, message. Over."

"Go for fortress." A voice answered Pac over the radio before he continued, all of us moving up the side of the towers towards a hidden entrance. "Sit-rep as follows. Large buildup of Chinese military around target point. Looks like spec ops, numbers unknown at this time. Over."

"Roger. Get them out of there safe and fast. Over." Pac turned down the volume on his radio as we all reached the side entrance of the towers. He turned to look at Irish and I before we walked into the building. "You heard them. Safe and fast."

Irish and I nodded at Pac before we all moved into the lobby through the automatic doors. I looked around and slowed my pace a bit, Pac and Irish doing the same. "Lobby looks clear."

"Here's the elevator." Pac's voice sounded from around the corner and Irish and I walked over to him as he pushed the button. The doors opened and we all stepped in, Pac immediately sliding his backpack off of his back and setting it on the floor. He bent down and began rummaging through it. "Let's see what we got…"

Pac grabbed a gun and held it toward me, Irish eyeing the gun with amusement. "What the fuck are these? Cocktail guns?"

I took the UMP-45 from Pac and checked the magazine as Irish took his, chuckling at it. Pac took the third gun from the backpack and then zipped it up, returning it to his back and then turning to the various buttons on the wall. "I don't see it. VIP's are on the top floor…"

His eyes scanned over the buttons and then pointed to one, turning to us. "So sky-bar, sky-bridge. That sound about right?"

"Sky-bar's always on the roof." Irish confirmed Pac's question and Pac nodded, pushing the button for the sky-bar. The elevator jumped to life and then began its ascent, leaving the elevator in silence for a moment.

"You really have to call Dunn's wife." Pac's voice was hushed as he leaned towards Irish. Irish glanced over at him and then let out a quiet sigh. "Yeah, I know. It's just-"

The ding of the elevator stopping and the doors opening stopped Irish from finishing his sentence. My eyes went wide when I saw four Chinese spec ops standing around in front of the elevator. One of them turned immediately at the sound of the elevator doors opening and raised his gun. A few shots rang out and hit the back wall next to my body as Pac pushed a finger into the door close button, smashing it continuously. I felt Irish grab the front of my jacket and pull me to the side of the elevator against the wall as more bullets flew into the small space. I flinched when one hit the metal beside my head and then looked over at Pac, seeing his finger still smashing into the door close button. "Get the damn door closed!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" A few more waves of bullets ricocheted around the metal in the elevator before the doors finally began to close, the bullets hitting off of the outside doors. "Wrong floor, wrong floor!"

"Oh shit, I think we just invaded fucking China." Irish's relieved sigh sounded from next to me as I stood straight again, taking the beanie from my head and then running a hand through my hair.

"Already getting shot at and we just started." Pac looked between Irish and I and cracked a smile, attempting to alleviate the disorder that was still hanging in the air. I shot him a subtle smile as I returned the beanie to my head, smoothing out stray strands as Pac once again hit the button for the sky-bar. "We can't use that route back out."

I looked between Pac and Irish, holding my gun down at my side. Irish nodded and then looked at Pac. "Any alternatives?"

Pac shrugged as the doors opened again, this time to a quiet top floor. "No. Stay alert, stay alive."

"Well, let's get these fucking VIP's." Irish smacked his palm to the bottom of his magazine and Pac moved out of the elevator in a crouch, checking the corner with me right behind him in a standing position. He nodded back at me and then stood up. "We're good."

"Reck, look at this." I turned to Irish and saw him point towards a section of the room that looked like a tornado had run through. Papers were scattered, windows were shattered, tables and chairs were upturned, and various debris was scattered throughout.

"What were they expecting?" Pac looked back at both of us and I shrugged. "An all-out war most likely."

Pac watched me for a few moments as I moved forward, taking the lead and scoping out the rest of the room. I turned the corner and then froze when a spec op came out of one of the offices. I crouched down and then slammed my back against the wall for cover, raising my gun to look back around the corner at the first spec op and then two others on the stairs.

"Did you hear that?" Pac came up behind me and I nodded. "Almost ran smack into it. Contact on the stairs."

"What do you want to do, Recker?" Irish crouched down behind Pac and I turned to look at them, motioning towards the spec ops. "Can't really use stealth since one is standing at the bottom of the stairs and two are rendezvousing at the top. I guess we'll have to take them all out at once."

"I thought Garrison said not to use our weapons unless absolutely necessary." Pac shot me a look and I met his gaze, shooting back my own look. "You have a better idea? We know now that the Chinese forces have taken over the building and I can assure you there will be a hell of a lot more beyond this point. If Garrison wants to yell at someone over this, just tell him I ordered you to do it," I shrugged and then turned to look at the three enemies by the stairs, glancing back at Irish and Pac after a moment. "Just get ready for a fight, boys."

* * *

><p><strong>Shout-Out's:<strong>

**I would like to thank John Sandman for the review! I'm glad you find my take on Battlefield 4 interesting and I really hope you like where the story goes with Jessaiya and Pac's relationship. :)**


	4. Fortune Cookies

"I trust your decision, Jess. I'm right behind you." Pac voiced his opinion from behind me and I glanced back, Irish looking over at him with an eyebrow raised. "Of course you would…"

Pac looked back at him and they shot each other a look that made it seem like they knew something I didn't. I shook it off and then looked back at the spec ops. "Let's just move."

I didn't wait for a response as I crouched down and began moving swiftly to a concrete plant structure at the right side of the room. Pac and Irish quickly moved to other structures close to mine, readying their weapons. I looked over at them and caught their attention, nodding my head. "Pac take the one on our floor. Irish and I will take the two at the top of the stairs."

They both nodded to me and I leaned on the top of the concrete structure, aiming my gun on the spec op to the right at the top of the stairs. My gunshots rang out first and the spec op fell to the floor, followed by the other two being shot down by Pac and Irish.

"Move up." I voiced my order out and then quickly moved towards the stairs, my gun at the ready as I scanned the area at the top of the stairs. I caught sight of a group of spec ops moving down the stairs leading to another floor, their guns at the ready and a few of them letting out a few shots. I returned fire and shot down two men at the bottom of the stairs, fire returning from all of the spec ops as I ducked into cover.

"Now it's a fucking party!" I heard Irish laugh as he ducked behind a sturdy file cabinet, returning fire as Pac stayed behind a bit, lingering on the stairs. I continued to return fire and glanced at the room in front of me, observing the twisting wooden structure that made a sort of divider. I quickly dashed over to it, sticking my gun through an opening and firing, hearing some cries of discomfort as bullets hit the spec ops. I ducked and flinched as a few shots flew past my head and then crouched again, moving into the connected room. I ducked behind a desk and then saw a spec op move forward towards Irish. He ran past the desk I was positioned behind and I shot at him, hitting him in his knee. He collapsed to the ground close to Irish's position with a groan, Irish turning to him and finishing the job with a few to the head.

"Three on the third floor stairs!" As soon as Pac yelled out at us, I flinched. A flurry of bullets grazed the desk I was behind, ringing loudly in my ears against the metal of the desk.

"Shit…" I slid out of position and moved forward behind another set of overturned desks, crouching behind them and aiming for the stairs. I saw one spec op fall to the floor dead and the others turned to the source of the gunfire. This gave me a chance and I caught them both off-guard, firing a few rounds at them. One fell limply to the floor as the other continued to return fire, hitting the wall behind me. I shot at him and hit him in the chest, watching as he fell to the ground. The man groaned in pain as I lowered my gun to my side and stood up, walking over towards him. Pac and Irish came up slowly behind me as I looked at him, aiming my gun at his head and ending his suffering.

I sighed and looked back at Pac and Irish, both of them still scanning the room. "I think we're clear."

"Elevator should be right up those stairs." Pac motioned a hand in the direction of the stairs and then took the lead, jogging up the length of them. I followed behind and then watched as he studied the door, cursing under his breath. "Crap. Security gate…"

"Work your magic, Pac." He turned back to look at me as I shrugged, smiling at him. He smirked back and then went to work on the door. I watched him for a moment before the faint sounds of propellers hit my ears. I glanced behind me and then turned fully around when an enemy helo came flying past the window I was near. "That's not good…"

I watched as it hovered around the building, ascending back out of view above us. Irish came bounding up the stairs and looked at me, glancing back around at the windows. "It's going for the roof, Reck. Watch the windows and get ready."

I nodded at Irish as he walked slowly back down the stairs, his gun raised in waiting for the enemy helo to appear again. I turned to look at Pac who was still working away, nudging his lower back with my boot. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm good. I can get this open, just give me a minute," He didn't budge from his concentration on the door as he spoke. "Just make sure I don't take a bullet to the head. Or butt…"

I scoffed in teasing and laughed. "Oh, god forbid. Not your ass."

This time he turned to look at me and frowned. "Just get going. I'll be fine, just don't go and get _yourself_ killed."

I made a face at him and turned to walk down the stairs towards where Irish was positioned. "I can't make any promises-"

"Jess!" I didn't wait for Pac to protest as I walked quickly down the stairs, scanning the windows in anticipation for another attack. When I reached Irish he glanced at me and then back at the windows, motioning in the direction with his gun. "You think they'll send in another wave?"

I shrugged, biting the side of my lip. "Most likely. They didn't swing the chopper around just to show us how pretty it was."

Irish grinned at me and then opened his mouth to say something when the sound of glass shattering stopped him. We both shot our attention to the large windows in front of us where a new wave of spec ops came crashing in, rolling into cover on the floor below. Irish and I dove into opposite directions behind cover, returning fire. I downed a few of the enemies quickly as Irish moved down the steps, taking cover behind a desk on the ground floor. I saw him return fire and down the spec op closest to him when I heard a clunk sound from beside me. I turned towards the sound and then scrambled up, attempting to get away from a thrown grenade. "Oh, go fuck yourself!"

I dove behind a cabinet as the grenade went off, a loud explosion going off behind me. I covered my ears just in time, but could still hear the ringing when I raised my gun again, aiming at the spec ops below. I fired off a few rounds at the running spec ops as I yelled towards Pac. "Double time up there, Pac!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" The sentence was hurried and frantic, and I could imagine Pac was frustrated with himself for not being able to get the door opened as fast as he would have liked. Hurried footsteps could be heard to my left as Irish came bounding up the second floor steps, motioning towards the third floor staircase. "Let them come to us and then we gun 'em down! There's only a few left!"

I agreed with him, realizing that the remaining spec ops were reluctant to come out of cover, and we sprinted towards the staircase, turning around when we reached the top. The plan ultimately worked. The remaining four spec ops swiftly made their way up the second floor staircase, our guns aiming at them. I took down the spec op bringing up the rear of the pack on the stairs and Irish took out two that were running towards us. I brought my aim towards the last spec op and fired into him before he could do the same, downing him in a heap at the bottom of our staircase. I lowered my gun and then looked at Irish, both of us huffing in relief.

"Come on, guys! I'm done!" Pac's voice caught our attention and we turned to him, Irish walking forward. "Come on, Reck. We're clear to go."

I nodded at him and then walked towards the door, standing next to Irish as Pac slowly slid the door open. I heard propellers again and I glanced back at the windows, watching the enemy helo circle around again and then ascend upwards. _That definitely wasn't good._

"Piece of cake…" I turned my attention back to a struggling Pac who was now pushing the sliding door with his back, grunting a bit with frustration at how heavy the door was. Irish grinned at him and then let out a chuckle. "That's it, Pac. Put your back into it."

Pac sent a slight glare in Irish's direction, too focused on getting the door open to fully look at him. The door gave one last groan as it slid fully open, Pac huffing as he bent forward and placed his hands on his knees. "Holy cow…"

"That's the best workout you've had this entire mission, Pac." Irish jabbed Pac verbally once again and this time Pac looked up at him, sending him a full on glare that just forced Irish to let out a loud laugh. I shook my head at both of them and rolled my eyes, walking forward through the door past Pac. "Come on. We've still got VIP's to rescue."

I turned to look at the two men behind me, Irish walking past me to scope out the hallway. My gaze landed on Pac who was slowly walking farther into the hallway.

"You okay?" I cocked an eyebrow at Pac who just looked at me, nodding his head with a shrug. "Yeah…kind of feels like I pulled something, though."

He let out a chuckle as he swung his arm a few times. I dropped my gun to my side and felt it bounce on my hip, my arms reaching out to grab his. He stopped moving and stared at me as I held his forearm in my left hand, reaching up and giving a good rub to his bicep. "You'll be fine. You did good back there, kid."

He continued to stare down at me, unamused. "Jess…I'm still older than you."

I let go of his forearm and gave his bicep a few firm pats with my other hand, clicking my tongue as I followed after Irish. "Whatever, kid."

I felt a gentle kick hit the seat of my jeans and I looked back, sending a glare back at Pac who just shrugged and sent me an innocent look. "It slipped."

"Mhmm." I rolled my eyes at Pac who just grinned and followed behind me towards Irish who was waiting for us by a door that led to another set of staircases. He eyed us as he crossed his arms. "Took your good goddam time. You find a broom closet to make out in?"

I made a face at Irish and shook my head, moving into the room and taking the staircase up to another floor. The next floor up was eerily quiet as I looked down each hallway, looking back at Irish and Pac who were making their way up behind me. "Is this the floor?"

Pac pushed past Irish and then walked out into the hallway ahead of me, looking around at the walls and doors. "Yeah, floor 41. All we need to do now is find room number 38."

"Good, we're finally close." I walked past Pac and continued down the hallway, picking my gun up from my hip. I held it up as I quickened my pace, turning a corner and moving down another hallway. As soon as I hit another corner and turned, a loud explosion sounded at the end of the hallway ahead, causing me to flinch and hold my arms in front of my face. Two muffled thuds could be heard where Chinese spec ops were thrown, dead on the floor.

"Jesus Christ. What the fuck was that?" Irish jogged up to me and looked down the hallway at where the explosion had gone off, seeing smoke billowing out of one of the rooms. I stared down at the two men on the floor before realization hit me. "No fucking way…"

I set out in a sprint down the hallway towards the room, skidding to a stop in front of it. Flames and smoke were pouring out of the destroyed door and I squinted as I moved towards the number plate on the wall, rubbing some dust off of it. "Room 38. This is our room."

"Holy cow. There's nobody alive in there," Pac and Irish came up behind me, Pac moving towards the room and slowly sticking his head into the hole in the door. He looked around the interior and then turned back to us with a frown. "This is bad."

I looked at Pac and then jumped in my skin when the door behind me swung open, my gun aiming out towards the person that opened the door. The man raised his hands and looked uninterested. "You're late."

I slowly lowered my gun and stared at him, cocking an eyebrow after a moment. "It takes time to shoot your way through a search party making their way up the building."

Laszlo W. Kovic, a CIA operative, nodded at me. "Why did you think I moved rooms?"

"If you can move, Kovic, what do you need us for?" Irish appeared next to me and Kovic's gaze turned to him. "Crossing the hall's a bit easier than crossing the street. Get in here."

Kovic moved farther into the room and opened the door wider, motioning for us to walk in. I walked into the room first, my gaze meeting the forms of two other people, a man and a woman.

"Where's the van?" Kovic's tone seemed a bit more agitated at this point and I turned to look at him, Pac closing the door when everyone was inside the room. I opened my mouth to answer Kovic when Irish took the lead. "Van? We can't take the street. Chinese military's swarming."

Kovic let out an annoyed sigh and threw his arms up slightly before letting them fall back to his sides. "Well, that's just fucking great."

"Who are the VIP's?" I ignored Kovic's annoyed tone and motioned towards the man and woman in the corner near a bed, the man sitting on the bed with a large bandage covering his face. Blood was stained into his white dress shirt on both his chest and right arm. Kovic's gaze landed on them and he answered me. "They're very important people. Significant woman and her husband. We're getting them out in one piece. That's all you need to know."

I felt a hand grasp my right one and I turned, coming face to face with the woman. She smiled warmly at me and began to softly shake my hand. "I'm Hannah. This is my husband. Thank you for coming."

"No problem…" I gave her a subtle smile before Pac pushed through us towards the man on the bed. Hannah's eyes went wide as she watched Pac crouch down, beginning to inspect the man's injuries. "Excuse me, sir. Do you speak English? Are you alright? Are you mobile?"

Hannah reached down and grabbed Pac's forearm, hauling him to his feet and away from her husband. "My husband is injured. He needs rest."

"Negative. No time for rest," Irish spoke from behind us, my head nodding at her in agreement. "I spotted choppers on the roof, so we have to move now."

"Then we go up." Kovic looked at Irish whose eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"If you can take it, I can fly it. Like it or not that's the plan." Kovic shot Irish a stern look and I glanced at Irish, knowing he was annoyed that Kovic was taking the lead. Kovic's gaze landed on me and I looked at him. "Unless you got another option, Sergeant?"

I stared hard at Kovic for a long moment, hearing Irish speak to Kovic before I could open my mouth to snap at him. "So we're stealing choppers now?"

I looked over at Irish and internally smirked. It wasn't better than what I had planned to say to Kovic, but it was good enough of a comeback. Kovic shot a hard look at Irish before Hannah intervened, reaching an arm out between the two men. "Are you done? My husband needs treatment."

Kovic looked at Hannah and then back at Irish before turning away from the group, Hannah's husband walking forward and clutching his right arm. He looked between all of us and then looked at the ground. "All this violence. Where does it lead to, Sergeant? This is not what-"

"Thank you again for coming, Sergeant. I am so grateful you are here." Before her husband could continue, Hannah stepped in. She placed a hand on his arm and kept her gaze on me, glancing back at her husband for a moment.

"Let's go now. Move, move!" Kovic's annoyed tone once again rang out in the room and we all looked at him, my face contorting into my own look of annoyance. Irish walked over to the door and hauled it open, walking out into the hallway and looking for stray spec ops. I looked at Kovic and sent him a fake smile. "Let's go!"

My face once again fell into an annoyed look as I moved behind Irish, moving quickly down the hall as Kovic, Hannah, her husband, and Pac followed us in that order.

"Heads down! Stay close!" Pac's voice sounded from the back of the pack as I kept my eyes on the long hallways in front of me, glancing at doorways to check for movement. We moved quickly to the staircase we had previously used and then quickly made our way up two more flights of stairs to the roof.

"If this don't work, we're fucked." Irish glanced back at me and kept his voice low so Kovic couldn't hear him. I smirked at him as I grabbed hold of the door leading to a dimly lit room, hearing Kovic yelling from behind me. "Recker, secure that helicopter!"

I walked slowly into the room and rolled my eyes. _What else was I supposed to do? Throw myself off the roof and let you fend for yourself?_

I smirked to myself at the thought and then shook it off, realizing it was unprofessional to be thinking that way about the people we were supposed to be escorting to safety. I walked farther into the dimly lit room and then to yet another staircase, slowly making my way up. I froze in my spot and then raised a hand, signaling for everyone behind me to freeze as well. A Chinese spec op moved past the open door in front of me and I followed him with my eyes, watching as he walked down a second staircase that led to the floor of the roof. I moved up slowly and then scanned the exterior, noticing various boxes and steel structures positioned around the roof along with a catwalk stretching the length of one side. A helicopter pad with a helo positioned on it was located at the back corner of the roof.

"Okay, we're going to do this slow and steady," I turned to look back at the group behind me, all of their eyes falling on me. I looked to Kovic, Hannah, and her husband first. "Kovic, take Hannah and her husband to find cover, and stay behind it. You will not move until I give you permission and then you will run to the helicopter."

"Yes, I understand." Hannah nodded at me as she steadied her husband next to her. Kovic just gave a curt nod, staying silent. I then turned my attention to Pac and Irish. "You will come with me. We're going to use stealth kills for as long as we can because there are about twelve spec ops patrolling this roof. Understood?"

Both of them nodded at me and I motioned to Pac, holding my hand towards him. "Pac has knives in his backpack. We'll use those, and if you feel you can't take down your target quietly, wait for the opportune moment. We want to make this sweep as painless as possible."

Pac handed me one of the knives first and I strapped the carrier to my thigh, tapping it in place with my palm as Irish and Pac took their own knives. I noticed a weapons crate off to the corner and I quietly made my way over to it, lifting the lid. I grit my teeth when it let out a short creak and then looked inside, reaching for a revolver. I checked the chamber for bullets and then stuffed it into the back of my pants barrel first, closing the lid of the crate and then moving towards the door that led out to the roof.

"Okay, let's move." I quietly moved out of the room to the open air of the roof, keeping an eye on the spec op who had moved past the door. I stopped when all three of us were outside on the staircase, turning to Pac and Irish. "Split up. I'll take right on the catwalk."

"I'll take the ground floor, left." Irish nodded at me, both of us looking at Pac who seemed uneasy. I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Pac?"

His gaze shot to me and he looked down at the spec ops on the ground floor. "Uh…ground floor, right."

"Okay, move." I nodded at both men before they broke off, both of them quickly and quietly making their way down the stairs to the ground floor. I moved swiftly to the catwalk and took cover behind a weapons crate to survey. I saw four spec ops in various places around the twisting catwalk and decided to go for the one closest to me first. Unsheathing the knife, I walked forward slowly, waiting for the man to turn around. I looked around at the others to make sure they weren't looking in my direction before I came up behind my target, shooting my knee into the back of his to bend him to my level. I wrapped a hand over his mouth to block the yell and stuck the knife into his throat, twisting it. The man fell limp in my arms and I pulled out the knife, slowly laying his body on the ground. I moved to the right of the catwalk, staying behind air vents and weapons crates as I moved to the next target. He turned away from me and I moved. When I reached him a loud clatter sounded from the ground floor and startled all of the spec ops.

"Měiguó rén!" The sound of the word Americans in the Chinese language hit my ears and I groaned, realizing this was going to turn into a gunfight sooner than I had planned. The spec op in front of me turned around and aimed his gun at me, shouting. I threw my leg out and kicked him off balance, forcing him to fall to the ground before sticking my knife into his chest and twisting. He was slower to die than the other, but I moved on as soon as the blood began pooling quickly from his mouth.

I grabbed my gun from my hip and swung it in front of me, taking aim at a third spec op in front of me and downing him. The fourth turned to fire at me and I shot back, standing up when he fell to the floor. I ran to the railing to give Pac and Irish support from above, watching as Irish ran from cover behind an air vent. "I can't get a bead on these motherfuckers!"

He haphazardly aimed behind him as he sprinted from cover, my gun aiming on the two spec ops chasing behind him. I downed one quickly before the other just fell, my gaze hitting the form of Pac who had shot the man down. My eyes scanned over the ground floor, watching as another spec op fell. Three spec ops remained.

"Fuck!" I heard Pac's voice to the right of me and immediately aimed my gun towards him, watching as a spec op came up next to him. Pac managed to knock the man's gun from his hands and then grabbed for his own knife, beginning a wrestling match. I aimed down the scope, attempting to get an aim on the spec op, and then cursed myself when I couldn't get a clear shot through all of the struggling. My eyes shot to another spec op running to help and I aimed at him, gunning him down before he could reach the two.

"Pac, I'm coming, man!" I heard Irish yell out and then saw him sprinting towards Pac, grabbing his knife and dropping his gun to his side. He let out a yell before he shoved his knife straight into the man's back, lacing an arm around his throat and pulling the spec op towards himself, driving the knife in deeper. The spec op struggled a bit before he went still, Irish dropping the body with a thud and then giving it a kick to the ribs. "Fucker…You alright, Pac?"

I quickly made my way over to an opening and dropped down to the ground floor, making my way quickly over to them. Pac nodded at Irish, grabbing his gun from his hip and holding it up. "Yeah, man. Thanks."

"We heard the halt in gunfire and we came out. Let's get to the chopper!" All three of us turned our attention to Kovic who was running towards us, Hannah and her husband slowly making their way behind him. The annoyance should have been completely visible on my face as I looked at Kovic, gripping my gun tightly. "I told you- I said-"

I grit my teeth and then let out a heavy sigh, wanting to get Kovic out of my care. "Just get to the chopper and get the hell out of here."

Kovic didn't say anything as he turned to run towards the Chopper, Pac moving to the other side of Hannah's husband to help him to the helipad. Irish placed a hand to my shoulder and shot me a look that said 'let it go.' I didn't respond as I held my gun up, scanning for signs of reinforcements.

"Go, get in, get in!" Pac began ushering Hannah and her husband into the back of the chopper as Kovic took the front, looking over the controls and starting it up. The blades began to spin and kicked up a lot of wind, Pac attempting to yell out at Hannah. "Make sure he doesn't strain himself!"

Irish continued to survey the rooftop as I turned to the helicopter, watching as Hannah's husband began climbing in beside her. After a moment of watching them I began to turn around, something catching my left arm and forcing me off balance to my knees. I fell to the ground and clutched my arm, bringing the hand in front of my face and seeing it was stained with blood. The stinging sensation came after a moment and I sucked in a breath, clutching the section of my arm where a bullet had hit.

"Jess!" Pac slid over to me and grabbed my arm, holding it up to inspect the damage. "Went right through…I have to patch it up, the wound's too deep-"

"We don't have time right now." I pushed Pac back and began to stand up, hearing Irish shooting back at the reinforcements that had arrived. I hissed as my arm throbbed with pain, holding my gun up and turning to look out towards the ground floor of the roof. I could feel Pac's eyes remaining on my form as I began firing at the spec ops, moving to stand next to Irish.

"Get off the fucking ground! Get the hell out of here!" Irish yelled back at Kovic in the chopper while Hannah's husband still struggled to get into the back. I felt a bullet fly past my head and then heard a scream.

"Get out of here now!" Pac's voice was panicked and I turned around for a moment, watching as a new pool of blood formed on Hannah's husband's chest. The bullet had hit him and he was lying on the ground, Pac taking a strong grip on his form and then hauling him into the back of the chopper next to Hannah. "Go!"

Pac screamed towards Kovic when they were both inside and Kovic nodded, quickly pulling the chopper away from the gunfight. When I turned back to where the remaining spec ops were located I saw Irish had taken care of all of the ones who had made it onto the roof. He lowered his gun with a sigh and then looked over at me, watching as the blood spilled down my arm. "You need stitches, Reck."

I snapped my eyes to him in surprise, having zoned out after a moment. I slowly brought my eyes down to my left arm and watched the blood flow out, letting my gun fall to my hip as I placed my right hand over the wound.

"Irish, cover us as we move up. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." Pac came up next to me and placed his own hand over mine on the wound, pushing down with a lot more pressure than I had been applying. Pac placed his other hand on my back and I began to move forward with him as Irish walked ahead, keeping his gun at the ready. We reached the small room leading to the elevators and Irish took out two stray spec ops, allowing his gun to fall at his hip as he ran to the elevators.

"I'm fine. Just give me a bandage wrap." I looked up at Pac and shrugged out of his grip, his eyes going from my wound to my face. He still held a bit of uneasiness in his face and he reluctantly slid the backpack from his shoulders, bending down and grabbing a roll of gauze. I took it from him and began winding the bandage around my arm, making sure it was tight to keep the bleeding down. I heard Pac zip up the pack and replace it back to his shoulders, going to stand next to Irish by the elevators. There was a moment of silence before Pac and Irish began a conversation, my own mind concentrating on getting my arm completely wrapped up.

"Did you ever open up a fortune cookie and add the old 'in bed'?" Pac crossed his arms and looked at Irish. Irish looked over at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Uh, no."

"What? You never heard of that?" Pac made a 'pfft' sound at Irish's confusion.

"What the hell is that?" It was Irish's turn to cross his arms.

"Oh, come on. You know, like…you open up a fortune cookie and it says, 'tomorrow you will be reborn,'" Pac held his arms up for emphasis before continuing. "In bed."

"What's the 'in bed' about?" Irish just continued to stare at Pac.

"Oh, come on, man. You get it. You know, like-" Pac placed a hand to his chin, trying to find the best words to describe what he was getting at. "'You are gonna have an eye opening experience that will change your life- in bed.'"

"I already had that." Irish answered back to Pac's explanation bluntly, causing Pac to look at him in disbelief. "What? No, you gotta add the 'in bed.' It's comedy, man. It's humor. It lightens the mood." Pac held his hands up, hoping Irish would get his sense of humor.

"Dude, I had a threesome. In bed." Irish once again answered bluntly and his statement made me cease my actions with the bandage. _Oh, Jesus Christ. Now I'm going to have to listen to this conversation._

I made a face to myself and continued wrapping carefully. At this point Pac's eyes were wide. "You got a threesome?"

"In bed!" Irish laughed at the memory as Pac just stared at him, holding his arms up. "What? Where else would you have a threesome? In a stage coach? What are you talking about? Of course it's going to be in bed."

"In a car?" Irish voiced his suggestion and Pac cocked an eyebrow at him. "Cause you fit- maybe in your caddie, you could fit three people…"

_Please stop…_

"I can't believe you're giving off the vibe that you never had one," Irish smirked at Pac who just continued to stare at him. "Who would you want it with if you could have anybody?"

There was a pause in the conversation and I was just happy that the threesome talk was over.

"Holy shit! Did you just-" Irish let out a loud laugh and I glanced up at both of them, shooting them both a look before bringing my attention back to my arm. There was a muffled punch and then a low 'ow' before the conversation continued, this time in hushed voices.

"No I didn't…" Pac attempted to defend himself against something that I had no idea had happened. Irish just snorted at him, shaking his head. "You totally did! I saw your eyes go over to her."

At that I glanced up at them and saw Irish point at me, Pac's face contorting.

"Drop it, man." Pac's voice was a little more aggressive and on edge as Irish continued to chuckle lightly, shaking his head. "If you say so, man. All I know is, the only thing I want my fortune cookie to say is 'you will be going home tomorrow in one piece.'"

"In bed-"

"In bed-"

"That doesn't work. That doesn't work, Irish. You gotta- no." Pac waved his hands in the air and shook his head, making a face at Irish who just looked back at him and scoffed. "Who says the fuck- it's my fortune! I can say what the fuck I want it- I have it say what I want it to say, Pac."

Pac just shook his head again. "It would never say that. A fortune cookie would never say that."

"How do you know? Do you make fortune cookies?" Irish's accusing tone made me let out a muffled snort, imagining the annoyed look on Pac's face.

"I know that they would never say that. It's ridiculous-"

"Oh, so you're the authority on fortune cookies?" Irish's voice had risen a couple of decibels at this point and Pac huffed. "Fortune cookies weren't made for us. They're not gonna say that 'you're gonna be home safe in bed.' That doesn't make any sense. The 'in bed' thing always works with legit fortune cookies."

"My fortune says 'Pac will shut the fuck up- in fucking bed!'" Irish yelled out towards Pac and I couldn't help the loud snort that escaped me, holding back the urge to laugh.

"Whatever. Whatever, man. Whatever." Pac just waved a hand at Irish, annoyed with having to explain why his sense of humor was so funny. I shoved the remainder of the end of the bandage into the tightly wrapped sections and then patted the spot, looking up at both Irish and Pac who were now facing away from each other with their arms crossed and annoyance written all over their faces. I cocked an eyebrow and sighed, smashing my hand into the elevator button to go down.

"Are you toddlers ready to move?"

* * *

><p><strong>Ah, the magical weapons crates that just appear out of nowhere and the "Fortune Cookie" Easter Egg from the game. (I know this happened when they first took the elevator up, but I felt it fit better towards the end.)<strong>

**If you review I'll send you a magical weapons crate. ;)**


	5. Follow Us to Safety

"VIP's inbound in a seized enemy helo. One of them is in need of immediate medical attention. We're still in the tower, looking for an alternate exit route. Over." Pac spoke into the radio on his jacket as we rode down to the bottom floor in the elevator. I could feel my heartbeat in my arm and I held a hand to it, rubbing my fingers on the tightly wrapped bandage.

"Understood. Stand by," Garrison's voice came over the radio to confirm he understood Pac's information. "Tombstone, make your way down to the river. We're working on an exfil plan. How copy?"

"Copy that. Out," With that Pac turned down the volume on his radio, scanning his eyes over both Irish and I. "Guess we're leaving by boat."

Irish and I remained silent as Pac looked at us, his eyes moving down to the hand that was still clutching my injured arm. I felt a hand mold over mine and I looked up, meeting Pac's gaze. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I stayed silent for a moment before cracking a grin. "I'm fine. Stop worrying so much."

"I have to worry. It's my job," Pac removed my hand from my injured arm and then held it up, his eyes studying the blood-stained bandage. "Still bleeding, but not enough where you'll run the risk of bleeding out."

"See? I'm fine. I'll make it through this mission, get some stitches, and then we'll all be back in this shitstorm in no time." I shook my arm from his grip and internally scolded myself, feeling a sharp pain rip through my bicep. He frowned when my face displayed the pain I was feeling and crossed his arms. "Doesn't look like you're _completely _fine-"

"Pac," I huffed a bit and looked at him. "Please just stop worrying and drop it."

His face fell slightly at my more aggressive tone and he sighed. "I have to worry about you. You're the team leader and…"

Pac trailed off a bit and looked to the floor, my eyebrow cocking at him. Irish glanced back at Pac when he trailed off, an interested glint in his eye. "What, Pac?"

I looked over at Irish as he looked down at Pac, my gaze turning back to Pac after a moment. He just shook his head in response. "Nothing…"

I shot him an unconvinced look and then reached forward with my good arm, doing something that even surprised myself. I wrapped my arm around Pac's back, pulling him into me and placing my cheek against his shoulder. "You still worry way too much…"

I felt Pac's arms relax and wrap around my form, being sure to be gentle with the wound on my left arm. I could see Irish smirk from the corner of my eye and he turned back around to face the elevator doors, silently chuckling to himself. There was a moment of silence before Irish piped up again, groaning at the music playing in the elevator. "Are you fucking kidding me with this song?"

"What? I love this song. It's a good freaking song." I felt Pac's chest rumble as he spoke, Irish turning around to make a face at Pac. "Man, you're whack."

"Ugh…no more fighting." I squeezed my eyes shut and smashed my face into Pac's jacket, attempting to tune out the oncoming argument. Irish shot a look at Pac and nodded. "Yeah, Pac. Quit starting arguments with me."

"Are you serious, dude? You know what-"

"Stop!"

* * *

><p>"These sons of bitches are everywhere…" I huffed as I shot at yet another spec op, downing him and running into another alleyway. Another gunfight had broken out in the lobby of the towers and we had just barely escaped that. Now we were just trying to find our way to the river for evac.<p>

"Make a left! Through there!" I heard Irish shout from behind me, slipping a bit as I took a sharp left turn running down another alley. My boots attempted to get traction against the slick road, causing me to lose my balance more than a couple of times. I was just thankful the steady downpour that had cursed us on this mission had turned into a light drizzle.

"It's gotta be close, right?" Pac's tone of uncertainty rang through the air and I glanced back at him, shrugging. "I don't know. I feel like we've been running-"

A large explosion threw me off of my feet and I fell back towards a brick wall, dust and debris falling down around me. I groaned and felt more pain rush through my previously wounded arm, opening my eyes and looking around. I saw Irish lifting Pac off of the ground and then coming over to me, grabbing my arm and roughly pulling me to my feet. "We gotta fucking go! Tank!"

It took me a minute to process what he was yelling at me and then my eyes went wide in realization, my neck craning around to find the tank that was somewhere behind us now.

"Shit!" Another explosion lit up the street behind us and Pac threw his hands over his head, running along behind Irish and I. I felt the ground beneath my feet slip again as I scrambled to run, the side of my body smashing into a pile of wooden boxes and spilling them all over the alley. Irish came up next to me and jumped over the stray boxes, grabbing ahold of my arm and steadying me. "Easy, Recker."

"I'm good, Irish. It's these damn boots in this damn weather…" I ran along behind Irish, Pac picking up the pace behind us as another explosion filled the air.

"Quick! Cut across!" I pointed a finger out in front of me towards a small staircase, all three of us making our way towards it. When we reached the top, we noticed a small makeshift ramp leading to the rooftops. I made my way up to the roof first, looking around and then feeling my face fall when I saw our only path was now collapsed into a heap. "Shit…"

"What now?" Pac appeared next to me with Irish and I scanned my eyes over the area on the street below the collapsed section of the roof. "Uh…I guess we take the streets again. Keep trying to outsmart the tank."

"No time to think it over. The Chinese found us." Irish raised his gun and aimed towards the four spec ops that appeared below us, shooting one of them down. Pac and I took care of the other three quickly and then slid down the collapsed portion of the roof, landing on the streets of the alleys once again.

"You guys good?" Pac looked back at Irish and I as we stopped at the bottom, my face contorting when I unloaded a magazine from my gun. "Fucking…I'm out of ammo completely…"

I scanned my eyes over the bodies of the downed spec ops around us and then walked to the one closest to me. I pushed the body onto its back with my foot and then crouched down, sliding the QBZ-97 from the man's body. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm going to need this."

I dropped the UMP I was holding next to the body and replaced it with the QBZ, checking the ammo as Irish and Pac took the lead once more. We made our way farther into the twisting alleyways, trekking over a fallen gate and into another alley leading to an open street. When we made it to the street we looked for signs of the tank, Irish sighing as he looked at Pac and I. "I think we lost it."

"Thankfully…" Pac mumbled from next to me and I gave a subtle smile, walking down the street ahead of Pac and Irish.

"It's a fucking warzone." Irish's face was in amazement as we came up on overturned cars and various forms of destruction at the end of the street, a few stray civilians sprinting past us.

There was a scream at the end of the street and we all turned our attention towards its source, seeing two people standing huddled together by a doorway with bodies scattered around them. Pac walked ahead of Irish and I, glancing back at us. "We should go see what's going on-"

"Pac, we have to get to the river." Irish's voice was stern as he looked at Pac, motioning a hand in the general direction he believed the river was in.

"Maybe they can help us." Without waiting for a response from either myself or Irish, Pac took off towards the two individuals. Irish sighed as he nodded at me, both of us running after him.

"This place is outta control…" Pac's voice trailed off as we came to stand next to him, his eyes scanning over the various lifeless bodies stationed at the feet of the two civilians.

"You're preaching to the choir, man." Irish just shrugged at Pac, my eyes coming up to meet the Chinese man's. His face lit up when I looked at him and he walked forward, reaching a hand out. "Thank you…please help us. We need your help to get to the river."

I didn't respond as the man removed the woman's arms from around his torso, walking over towards the doorway they were standing in front of and opening it. He motioned a hand for us to go in and I looked at Pac and Irish, both of them looking to me for a decision. I just nodded at them and walked through, realizing that this was the best chance we would have in getting to the river more quickly. I made my way up a small staircase and into what looked like an office building. A woman caught sight of me and sighed in relief, motioning a hand to follow her. "Americans? Good. We could use your help."

"What's going on?" I lowered my gun to my hip as I walked farther into the office, a Chinese woman and her young daughter standing by a desk.

"Eyes open, Jess?" Pac came up close to me and whispered, my eyes going to his form. Irish came over to us before I could answer and answered for me. "Relax, Pac. These are hardly bad guys…"

Irish nodded at Pac before walking slowly over to the little girl, pushing his gun aside and reaching a hand out towards her. "How are you? Ni ho ma?"

My heart momentarily melted as Irish smiled genuinely down to the girl. I hadn't seen him smile like that in a long time and it was a welcome sight in all of the chaos we had been immersed in. There was a pause before the little girl slowly reached her hand towards Irish's, her mother's voice calling out to her before she could clasp Irish's hand. "Stay away from the window."

The little girl looked to her mother and then ran quickly over to her, Irish's face falling a bit as he turned his attention to the mother along with the rest of us. Her face was grim as she looked at the sight through the window, looking over all of us soon after. "We are trying to get to the river, but Chang's forces have tanks. No one gets in or out of the city."

I was the first to move towards the window, my eyes scanning over the street and what looked like a small park below. In the distance I could just barely make out a tank that was making its way towards our location, small trees snapping like twigs in its path.

"We're trying to get to the river, too." Pac spoke to the woman and I turned back around, nodding at her. "We can help. We can take out the tanks and then lead everyone to safety at the river."

Pac looked over at me and nodded as Irish walked over to the window to look out. "Any anti-tank rockets around?"

"There. In that crate down there. Must have been left behind by the spec ops." Pac lifted an arm to point down at a weapons crate located in the small park.

"Our people are fighting back, but Chang's forces are too strong," The woman spoke again and we all looked at her, her hands clutching onto her daughter's arms. "We are stuck. We could use your help."

Irish nodded at her and then smirked at me. "I say we get our hands on that RPG and blow that fucking tank outta the way. Right, Reck?"

I smirked back and shrugged, moving to look out the window at the tank again. "Sounds fun."

"Stay here and protect everyone, ma'am," Pac motioned for the woman and child to move back, placing a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "We'll be back once we get rid of the tanks and it's safe to move towards the river. Just wait for us."

The woman nodded at Pac and ushered her daughter farther into the building and away from the windows, Pac walking over towards me. I felt him place a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him. "Let's move."

I nodded at him and then moved ahead, Pac following behind me. I met up with Irish at a small staircase leading into the open park and crouched down behind the railing, surveying the area. "The crate's over there. I'm the lightest and fastest on my feet here, so I'll move that way immediately and see if I can pick up C4."

"That's suicidal to try and stick C4 to the tank." Irish looked at me and I shook my head at him. "Not if I can sneak up on it. I can do this pretty fast, so just back me up."

"Recker!" I was quickly making my way down the steps and into the park before Irish or Pac could protest, my eyes scanning for the tank. I moved faster towards the weapons crate and crouched down in front of it, lifting the lid and looking inside. After a few moments of rummaging around various weapons and ammo, I found the C4 I was looking for and took it out.

"Reck! Recker!" I heard whisper-yelling from behind me and turned around, my eyes landing on the forms of Irish and Pac crouching behind concrete plant structures. Irish's face was contorted into a glare and I just smiled at him, nodding my head in the direction of the tank. "Just cover me."

I moved before Irish could protest again, but not before I noticed the worried look etched into Pac's face. I let out a breath before moving towards another concrete structure, crouching with my back against it. Looking around for the tank only took a few moments. The ground began to rumble and shake as it drove past me, my feet quickly and quietly following behind it. I felt water hit my face, realizing it was raining heavily once again as I made it close enough to the tank to set one C4 pack in place on the back of it. I paused a moment to prepare a second pack, my ears picking up the sound of the turret moving on top of the tank. I froze, my eyes slowly scanning up the tank to see where the turret was positioned. It was looking to the right and I sighed slowly, going back to prepare the C4 in my hands. The tank began moving again and so did I, coming up close to it. I heard the turret moving and I slid behind a structure, watching as the tank came to a slow stop again. I moved quietly out of cover and moved more quickly towards the back of the tank. I turned my head to see where Pac and Irish were located and that's when I felt my boots slip against the slick road, my body falling backwards and the C4 falling from my hand, sliding along the concrete away from me.

"Fuck…" I hissed at myself and held my breath, hearing the turret once again move. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as I brought my eyes up to look at the tank, feeling them go wide when I realized the turret was now aiming directly at my fallen form. I flipped my body onto my hands as fast as I could, slipping again back to my stomach on the concrete.

"Pac!" My eyes snapped in the direction I heard Irish's voice ring out from and saw Pac now waving out towards the tank, his body standing and completely exposed from cover. "Hey! Over here!"

I watched him and realized he wasn't waving towards me, but towards the tank, my heart sinking as I attempted to get to my feet. I heard the turret move once again, this time in the direction of Pac.

"Pac-" My scream was drowned out by the loud noise of the turret firing, my entire body freezing up and my words getting caught in my throat. The explosion lit up the small park we were in and I ducked behind cover, my arms covering my head as debris flew around me. I felt a shaky breath slide out of my mouth and I whipped my head in the direction of where Pac once stood, my eyes scanning the area desperately. I felt a million emotions hit me at once and for some reason, all I could do was get to my feet once again and run towards the tank. I slapped the C4 to the back of it and then sprinted towards cover as the turret moved towards me, diving behind a concrete structure and placing my hands over my ears as I pressed the detonator. The loud explosion of the tank blowing up rang in my ears and I coughed in dust as it settled around me, my eyes squinting to see through the dark cloud.

"Fuck." I scrambled to my feet again and sprinted in the general direction of where Irish and Pac had been positioned, my eyes darting back and forth. "Pac! Irish! God dammit..."

I took in another sharp breath as I prepared for the worst, my hands shaking as my body carried me forward.

"Over here!" My eyes snapped in the direction I heard Irish's voice and I sprinted towards him as fast as I could, seeing his back come in to view behind a concrete structure.

"Irish, where's-" I literally choked on my words when I caught sight of Pac's body lying beneath Irish's crouched form. Irish looked up at me and then opened his mouth to say something when I pushed him roughly out of the way, sliding down to my knees and then shaking Pac's chest. "Wake up! Pac!"

I stared down at Pac's closed eyes, another breath escaping my lips as I shook him harder. "Clayton! Wake up! Clayton!"

I felt the tears in my eyes finally fall down my cheeks in a heavy stream, my hands balling into fists and then slamming down onto his chest, my head following closely behind as it fell to his chest. "You fucking idiot…"

Irish remained silent behind me as I continued to let the tears fall freely, my hands grabbing the material of Pac's jacket and balling it between themselves.

"Jess, you're hurting me…" My eyes snapped open and I choked on a breath, my head whipping up to look at Pac. His eyes stared back at me and his face contorted in pain as he spoke again. "My ribs…"

My arms flew out around his neck and I pulled him to me into a tight embrace, smashing his face to the crook of my neck as tears continued to fall down my face. "You fucking idiot, you're alive…"

Pac didn't protest as I held him to me, slowly reaching hand up to place on my back. I pulled away after a moment and placed both of my hands on his face, my eyes darting all over his features. "You're a fucking idiot. You should have just let me take the hit. You fucking idiot…"

At this point I was both smiling and crying, Pac's eyes staring into mine. "I couldn't just let you die, Jess," He flinched in pain again and reluctantly pulled away from my grasp, lying back to the ground. "My ribs…"

I sat back to a kneeling position next to him, looking back at Irish. "Can we move him? If we move quickly we can get him back to the Valkyrie."

My eyes scanned over the area of his ribs where he was clutching them, my hand gently laying itself on top of his as my other wiped at my face. Irish came up beside me and looked down at Pac's pained expression. "I can try. It'll be painful, but it doesn't look like he's bleeding from anywhere."

"Try to get him up. We have to get to the boats." I removed my hand from the top of Pac's and got to my feet, turning to look at the river behind me and then back towards where Irish was now attempting to lift Pac. The four civilians from earlier were now running towards us, waving their arms above them. My gaze landed on them and the man ran up to Irish, looking between him and Pac. "I can help."

Irish shot him a weary look and then nodded. "Watch where you try to support him. He's got injured ribs on that side."

The man nodded at Pac and then slowly bent down to just below Pac's shoulder height, slipping his shoulder under Pac's left armpit. A cry of pain sounded from Pac and the man froze, Irish ceasing his actions on Pac's right side. After a moment and a lot of heavy breathing on Pac's part, we began to move.

"Stay close to me." I looked between the two women behind me and then sent a warm smile at the young girl, her eyes staring up at me. I began moving as quickly as I could go, keeping up a pace that Pac and his support team could move with. After a while we made it to the docks, various boats waiting around for straggling citizens.

"Get him into the boat slowly." I ran over to a boat where a man was waving me down, ushering the two women and then the young girl into the boat first, jumping down into it afterwards. I looked up at Irish, Pac, and the man on the dock, all of them moving slowly in an attempt to get Pac down into the boat.

"Recker, grab for him." Irish nodded at me and I held my arms up towards them, bracing myself as Irish and the man slowly lowered Pac down to me. Pac's feet hit the wobbly deck of the boat and he fell into me, my body straining to hold his full broad weight against it. I slipped my right shoulder under Pac's armpit and slowly crouched to the deck of the boat, wrapping my arm securely around his shoulders.

"Let's go! We gotta go!" I heard Irish yelling at the man next to him on the dock and they both jumped down to the boat, Irish walking to the front. I felt the boat roar to life and then slowly move forward, Pac's head leaning against mine and his breathing labored. My eyes scanned over the river in front of us as boats followed behind, attempting to escape the war in the city.

"Fortress, this is Tombstone 4. We are pulling out in a civilian boat. Over." I heard Irish speak into his radio and then brought my eyes back to Pac's face, seeing his eyes were tightly shut.

"This is Fortress. Alright, make it fast." Fortress confirmed our information and Irish rolled his eyes, his gaze looking down at the deck beneath his feet. "This rusty tin can is barely a speed demon. Over."

An enemy helo flew overhead and I brought my gaze up towards it, watching it fly towards the city and hearing Garrison's panicked voice over the radio. "Are you taking fire, Tombstone? Say again, Tombstone, are you taking fire? Give me a sitrep-"

A blinding flash overtook the city and I turned my head away, Irish's loud yell ringing in my ears. "Fuck!"

I turned back towards the city and opened my eyes after a moment, seeing Irish smacking the radio he held. "Shit. Comms are dead."

"Someone tell me what just happened?" I looked around the boat and then to Irish, seeing him shake his head. The sound of a stalling helo caught my attention and I looked up to see the enemy helo falling towards us. Irish dropped to the deck and placed an arm over the man next to him, motioning to the rest of the people on board. "Down! Down! Down!"

I leaned forward and placed the arm that was around Pac's shoulders over his head, watching the helo land harshly in the water next to the boat and start to sink. The boat shook in the waves the impact made as I returned my arm to Pac's shoulders to steady him, Irish getting back to his feet. Irish's eyes scanned over the now blacked-out city. "Must have been an EMP blast," His gaze turned towards the Chinese people on board and he nodded. "Don't worry. It kills electronics, not people."

Irish looked at me and then at the people on the boat. "We have to get them to safety. Look at all these boats. They're sitting ducks out here…"

I opened my mouth to say something when he quickly stood up, waving at all of the boats full of people around us. "Follow us! Follow us! We'll get you to safety!"

"Irish! What are you doing?" I shot a look at Irish and he looked back at me. "We can't just leave them here, Reck."

"Irish-"

"Follow us! We'll get you to safety on the USS Valkyrie!" Irish once again waved an arm to alert all of the boats around us, ignoring my protest. The boat we were stationed on continued moving slowly in the direction of the Valkyrie, all of the boats around us beginning to follow. I remained silent as I watched Irish with uncertainty, listening to Pac attempt to steady his breathing with the immense pain in his ribs.

Maybe Irish was doing the right thing.

* * *

><p><strong>Our first near-death experience for Pac. You should know I just can't kill him off. ;)<strong>

**Shout-out once again to John Sandman for the positive words! And as always, review and I'll give you a magical weapons crate!**


	6. Burning

_"__Get her to the hospital wing!"_

_Time seemed to be rushing forward without me, leaving me in a daze of confusion. I was being ushered quickly down a hallway by two female nurses, my feet unwilling to move and forcing the two women to drag me. My eyes darted around the hallway and then something snapped within me, my body completely freezing. "Where is he?"_

_"__Sergeant Recker, we need you to move." One of the women looked at me with pleading eyes, her gaze alternating between the blood soaked bandage on my arm and my wide eyes. I ripped my arms from their grips, hissing when the pain in my left arm took over my body in a short wave. "Where is he?"_

_I asked the question more desperately this time, my eyes narrowing at the two nurses in front of me. They shared a gaze and then looked back to me, the one to my right reaching a hand out towards me. "Sergeant-"_

_"__I need to know if Pac is okay." I stared down the nurse and she ceased her movements. The last time I had seen Pac, we were being ushered quickly onto the Valkyrie, my arm in a vice grip over his shoulders. He was then ripped from my grasp and hauled away on a stretcher to the hospital wing. I had attempted to get to him through all of the medical personnel until someone roughly grabbed my wounded arm__, eliciting a loud cry of pain from me and panic from everyone else._

_"__He's being treated. It doesn't look bad-"_

_"__Do you know for sure?" I didn't know why I was being so hostile towards the people that were trying to help me, and I didn't know how to stop myself. The words laced with venom just kept spitting themselves from my mouth. _

_"__Sergeant Recker, the sooner we can get you patched up the sooner you can see Sergeant Pakowski." The nurse's words were softer this time, her right hand clasping my right arm lightly. I looked over at her and relaxed my rigid posture, hearing his name come out of her mouth soothing the snake that had somehow slithered its way into my chest. I slowly nodded once at her, both of the nurses guiding me down the hallway towards the hospital wing. I cast my gaze to the floor, my behavior and thoughts utterly confusing my otherwise usually uninterested self. Having Pac ripped from my grasp in such a fragile state had awoken feelings of a defensive nature, wanting nothing more than to protect him from everything that could possibly harm him. I thought I was beginning to understand how Pac felt when he had worried about me out on the battlefield, but I didn't know how to approach the feelings themselves. All my life I had known nothing more than deceit, betrayal, and materialism. My father and mother never showcased or radiated love around me. Love from someone else was nothing I had ever experienced._

_Love._

_The word hit me like a big Chinese tank. I felt my breath hitch in my throat, the realization of where I was in the current time hitting me along with it. I stared up ahead of me and was soon rushed onto a small cot, both of the nurses at my side pushing me into a sitting position on top of it. I stared at them, the thoughts from before still lingering in my mind._

_"__Sergeant Recker, can you hear me?" A Chinese woman came into view and I squinted when she shined a flashlight into my eyes, my hand reaching up in front of my face to block it out. The woman gently placed a hand on my own and pushed it down, sending me a smile. "Sergeant Recker, it's Hannah. You're in safe hands now."_

_"__Hannah?" I stared at her for a moment and then nodded at her in realization. "The VIP…"_

_"__That's right. I'm also a doctor." She moved around me, checking vital signs in silence as another male doctor walked into the curtained room. I remained silent and somewhat unresponsive as I was lost in thought, staring straight ahead at the green curtain that surrounded us._

_"__Sergeant Recker, I'm going to take the bandage off of your arm now." I didn't say anything as I continued to stare ahead, feeling the tight pressure leave the area around the wound on my left arm. The last thing I remember is the feeling of my heartbeat in my left arm and the fresh blood sliding down. That's when I blacked out._

* * *

><p>My eyes shot open and I bolted upright, the top of my head making contact with a sturdy surface. I groaned in pain and shut my eyes, lying back down. My left hand rose to place itself to my forehead when a new feeling of pain shot trough it. I hissed and cursed myself, my right hand alternating between the pain in my arm and the pain in my head.<p>

"Jesus, Recker." I heard a voice from my right and opened my eyes slowly, looking over and squinting at the blurry figure. When everything finally came into focus, I realized I was lying in my bunk and a marine was sitting in the one across the aisle from mine, his eyebrow cocked at me. "You sure were kicking and thrashing a lot in your sleep."

I looked at him and sighed, slowly maneuvering myself into a sitting position to mirror him. I felt around my left arm and then looked down at it, seeing a fresh bandage covering where the stitches had sewn up the deep bullet wound. I then realized I wasn't in the same jacket and jeans from the mission before, but in a clean black t-shirt and military pants. I was confused as to when I had even been redressed. "I'm falling apart…"

"I'll say." My gaze shot up to the marine, Alec I believe, and I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged at me as he lied back on his bunk, his arms curling behind his head. "You better find the rest of your team. Garrison isn't too happy with all of the new passengers we picked up."

I stared at Alec for a moment, trying to remember what had happened on our last mission. Then it hit me. Irish had made the decision to lead all of the civilians to the Valkyrie. But why would Garrison and everyone else be mad? All of the civilians were put in the cargo rooms below deck and are out of the way. It was also saving lives after all.

"What the hell…" I mumbled to myself and shook my head, Alec looking over at me again. "Oh yeah…Irish swam by here. Didn't dare wake you."

"Thanks." I nodded at Alec and then stood up from my bunk, stretching out my back and then walking down the hallway towards the exit door from the bunks. I figured it would be a good idea to find Irish and find out what had happened when the civilians were brought on board, and to ask about what had happened while I was passed out. That was the plan at first, but I soon found my feet leading me towards the hospital wing.

There was a weird vibe hanging in the air as I made my way down the corridors of the ship. People whispering between each other. Looks that could borderline on dirty shot my way. Stares directed in my direction. And jeers.

"Nice going, Recker. Think you and your crew can just bring in people off the street? What about the rest of us who are already cramped on this fucking ship?" I tried to ignore the marine that stood up and crossed his arms at me, but somehow I couldn't help but look at him. I refused to retaliate as I kept walking, earning a snort and a smug look from him. "That's what I thought…"

All I could think about was getting to Pac. Just to see that he was okay. I ran a hand through my messy hair as I sighed. This whole emotion thing was still new to me, as cliché as it sounds.

"Excuse me." My eyes shot up to yet another marine walking by, recognizing the sincere eyes immediately.

"Brendan?" I felt a subtle smile pull at my mouth as he looked at me, pausing a moment and then grinning. "If it isn't Jess. Or, should I say Sergeant Recker."

He saluted me and I let out a light laugh, shaking my head. "That's not necessary."

He shrugged at me as he lowered his hand. "Hey, I'm just going by the book here."

I shot him a look and smiled. To be honest, I still wasn't used to being treated as someone who was higher rank than most of the ship. I still felt like that rookie marine who was trying to prove herself.

"Jess…I can't help but to notice the dirty looks and whispering that are directed at you. What the hell were you and Tombstone thinking?" Brendan cocked an eyebrow at me as he leaned back against the wall. I looked up at him and paused for a moment. What _were _we thinking?

"Just saving some lives, Brendan." I shrugged at him as he continued to stare at me. I couldn't just throw Irish under the bus for his idea of bringing the stranded civilians onboard the Valkyrie. If saying it wasn't any one person's idea would just bring some dirty looks and gossip, then it would be easy enough for me to deal with. I already had those problems. Being a woman in a team lead position brought on its own challenges among the crowd that wasn't particularly fond of the idea.

"Just watch your back. Oh, and watch out for Garrison. I'm hearing talk that he's a little peeved." I saw a subtle eye roll from Brendan and I smirked, waving a hand at him. "When is he not?"

"You speak the truth, Recker," He pushed himself off from the wall and waved back at me as he walked down the corridor. "I'll see you around."

I smiled as I watched him walk away. Brendan, who was also working with the crew in the kitchen, was always one that never judged or belittled a person. He was one of the kindest people I had ever met beside Pac.

"Right…" I whispered to myself as I turned my head forward, my eyes scanning over the corridor. Just seeing Pac was alright was one thing, but as for what I would want to say to him…that was an entirely different animal. Something in my gut told me this meeting, or any meeting after for that matter, was going to be different. All of the feelings I now had bottled up were going to have to come out at some point. Actually expressing emotions was also something that was new to me. Composed and unemotional was pretty much my entire persona.

"Sergeant Recker." My eyes snapped up to see another Captain acknowledge me with a nod. Eight sets of eyes landed on my form, some glaring while others seemed uninterested, and I looked around, realizing I was walking through a briefing room. I nodded swiftly at the captain as I quickly made my way out of the room into another corridor, walking down the all too familiar hallway. I took in a breath as I made my way to the end, walking into the one room that held a heavy smell of lemon.

"Sergeant Recker?" I heard my name and I turned to the right, my eyes landing on Hannah. Her grin was wide as she looked at me and she placed a clipboard down, walking over to me. "Is everything alright with your arm? You took a nasty bullet and got yourself a nice souvenir."

I let out a light laugh as I looked down at my left arm, her smile brightening. "Yeah…souvenir all right…"

"I think I know what you're also here for." I brought my gaze back to hers as she looked at me knowingly, my eyebrow cocking at her. "What?"

She didn't say anything as she raised a finger, pointing it in the direction of a space that was closed off with a curtain. "He's in there."

I brought my gaze slowly over towards the curtains, feeling myself take an involuntary swallow. Her grin soon turned into a smirk, reaching her hands out to push me in my good arm. "Go on, Sergeant Recker."

I stumbled forward a moment and then looked back at her, attempting to stall. "Hannah, you can call me Jessaiya…or Jess."

She smirked again and nodded. "Get going, Jess."

I turned back around and sighed, looking up at the curtains again as Hannah shook her head with a chuckle behind me. I slowly willed myself to walk towards where Pac was concealed, my emotions conflicted between wanting to get clarity that he was alive and then not knowing what to say about…feelings.

_Ugh, feelings. I have the mental stability of a five year old who was still afraid of boy cooties when it came to feelings._

Before I could comprehend what my right hand was doing, the curtain was sliding back and my eyes were met by the sleeping form of Pac. I stared at him, frozen in my spot as I gripped the edge of the curtain. My eyes began scanning over him, starting at his head. His signature beanie was loosely fitted onto his head; something I imagined he had demanded the nurses let him keep. His face was relaxed and his eyes were closed while his mouth was slightly open, a new scar still in the early stages of forming on the right side of his lip. The various, seemingly gentle scars, littered his face and aged its boyish appearance. Bringing my eyes down I noticed he was now shirtless, a very large bandage wrapping around most of his torso and over his right shoulder, his chest rising and falling steadily as he slept.

I brought my eyes back up to his face, drawn to the gentleness his face held as he was fully relaxed and in an entirely vulnerable state. I wondered how someone could look so carefree and happy. My mind was always keeping me awake and in an infinite headache with all of the memories I would never be able to forget. I was the basket case to his security. I tore my eyes away from his form, realizing I didn't have half of the courage I would need to delve into this new territory. _I_ wasn't even ready to look into them deep enough to accept I was feeling the way I was about Pac.

"Jess?"

My body completely froze, becoming immobile as I stared ahead of me at another closed curtain. I felt my grasp on the curtain I had been holding grip harder, my knuckles going white. Pac's voice in a strained whisper behind me confirmed he knew I was there and now there was no running away from this. My nonresponsive form must have confused him and I imagined him lifting an eyebrow at me as I heard him shift on the cot. "Jess…are you okay?"

I bit hard on the side of my cheek and willed my feet to turn my body around, slowly coming to face a now sitting Pac. His eyebrow was indeed cocked at me as his eyes scanned over my face, my own eyes wide as I looked at him. "I um-"

"You look like you saw a ghost. Or you…are a ghost. Are you a ghost?" Pac continued to stare at me as I dumbly brought my hands to my arms, patting up and down as a small smile played on his lips. I looked down at my body, shaking my head a bit as I felt some of the feeling return to my limbs. "I don't think so…"

A heard a breathy laugh escape Pac's lips and I shot my eyes up, watching as Pac cringed and placed a hand gingerly to the left side of his torso. "Still sore..."

"Are you okay?" I blurted out the statement and mentally slapped myself in the face over how dumb and alarmed it sounded, crossing my arms and frowning at myself after a moment. His gaze slowly met mine and he cocked an eyebrow again. "It's just a bit of pain, Jess. Just some bruised ribs and shoulder. I think I'll live."

I let out a quiet sigh as I nodded at him, his hand reaching down to pat the cot next to his legs. "I should be asking about you and your arm. Come here."

I hesitated for a moment as Pac watched me, my feet moving me towards the cot. I heard Pac's legs shift over to give me more room as I sat down, his eyes remaining on my form. I couldn't bring myself to look at Pac's eyes at such close range, so I settled on staring at the bandage across his torso. I unconsciously laid my right hand over the wound on my left arm, feeling another hand land on my shoulder. I brought my eyes up and locked them on Pac's, seeing him smile at me. He remained silent as he gently pushed my right hand away from my wound, my eyes dropping down to his hand that was now pushing my sleeve up. I felt his hand hover over my stitches as he looked at them, gently grazing a hand over the side of my bicep.

"I'm surprised you didn't die of blood loss out on the field with your makeshift wrap." I could hear the teasing in Pac's voice and I frowned, glaring at him. "Please…at least I didn't literally need to be carried to the boat."

I heard Pac laugh lightly at me, bringing his gaze to mine and smirking. "Alright, I'll give you that because you have a boo-boo arm."

I scoffed and waved him off. "Boo-boo arm…you and your boo-boo ribs."

"I think we all got a couple boo-boo's on the last mission." I looked back at Pac and saw him chuckle again, a small smile tugging at my own lips. This is what I liked about Pac. He had a weird sense of humor, but somehow I understood him more than anyone else.

"Yeah, you and your boo-boo almost gave me an aneurism. You had me worried…" I mumbled to myself as I looked at the floor, my demeanor going more serious.

"You were worried about me?" I heard Pac speak from next to me, but I didn't look up, feeling it was easier to answer him if I kept my gaze away from his. "I'm always worried about you."

"Does Jessaiya Recker, Miss Stone Cold, really worry about me as much as I worry about her?" A small chuckle escaped Pac's lips as he asked his question, my eyes darting up to his face and my right hand reaching forward to gently punch his left leg. "Shut up, I'm serious this time."

His chuckling died down as he looked at me, nodding his head and reaching a hand out to grab my fist. "I know. I'm sorry."

I looked down at our hands and felt him gently relax my fist, wrapping his fingers around my small hand. I stared at our hands for a moment before speaking. "I thought I actually lost you out there in that park…"

I looked up at him as his eyes remained on our hands, my free hand reaching out to push a few stray hairs underneath the beanie on his head. I felt his head lean into my touch and I looked down to his face, seeing his eyes close as he spoke. "I really do care about you, Jess. More than you probably want to believe."

I stared at him as his eyes remained closed, my left hand remaining on the left side of his face while the other gripped his hand. I sighed lightly as I studied the relaxed look on his face. "To be honest…I've never had anyone care about me," I scoffed at myself and shook my head. "Listen to me. I sound pathetic."

"You're not pathetic," I felt his grip on my hand tighten as his eyes opened, his gaze locking onto mine. There was a moment of silence that passed as Pac looked as though he was battling with himself internally, finally speaking. "What about love?"

There was that big Chinese tank again. Thinking about that word and connecting it with Pac was enough to literally stop my heart, but hearing him say it forced all of my internal functions to shut down. I stared blankly at him in silence as I attempted to figure out how to breathe again. I tried to imagine what love could feel like, but all I got was my mother's voice grating in my ears: _You'll never be good enough for any man. You'll never be pretty enough for any man. No man will ever want you. No man will ever love you._

"What?" The word came out in a breathy whisper as I stared at him, his gaze remaining serious and gentle all at the same time. He reached his free hand out to brush my hair from my left shoulder, placing it on my left cheek. "I love you, Jess. I've held that in long enough and I think you need to know."

_No man will ever love you. _All of the bitterness in my soul wanted nothing more than to literally throw this moment into my mother's face, wanting to see the complete and utter disbelief. Now, however, was not the time to think about my own selfish revenge. Now was the time to figure out what the hell love was.

Putting someone's needs before your own. Sacrificing yourself for another person without a second thought. There were a few things I had figured out through fairy tales and hearing gossip from other women at etiquette parties, and when I put two and two together, I realized that the thought of actually losing Pac was worse than dying.

"That may be a lot to take in right now, but…just know that I've never meant something as strongly as I do right now." I felt Pac's other hand leave mine and gently cup the other side of my face, his eyes searching my face. The sincerity and utter seriousness that showed on his features broke something deep inside of me and I felt my eyes begin to water, my hands placing themselves over Pac's. In the moment where we just stared at each other I felt everything else fall away for the first time. In that moment it was just us; there was no pending war with China, there was no warship, there was no shitty childhood, there was no hurt, there was no emptiness.

There was just…love.

In this bliss I just acted on natural emotion, leaning forward and seeing Pac mimic my movements. My eyes gently closed as his lips locked onto mine, a feeling so intense washing over me that I had never experienced before. Our mouths moved in sync while the rest of the world just ceased to exist. Everything was finally right. All of the passion and the general feeling of wanting to be cared about were finally present.

When we pulled apart Pac placed his forehead against mine, locking eyes with me as he smiled. I couldn't help the sincere smile that made its way onto my face, my hands travelling down his arms to rest on his broad shoulders making sure to be gentle with his bruised one. Staring at him forced another feeling of bliss to wash over me and I leaned up into him again, deepening a kiss that I never wanted to end. Pac kissed me harder and brought his arms down to my waist, pulling me into him. I shifted a bit against his torso and I felt him cringe into the kiss, pulling away for a moment.

"Are you okay?" I looked at him in worry as he let out a breathe, nodding at me after a moment. "Yeah…you don't have to be so gentle with me. I can fight through the pain."

I chuckled at him and rolled my eyes in teasing. "Yet if I happen to actually cause you more injury it'll force you to sit here in the hospital wing while we're fighting off the chance to get shot. Then you'll have to awkwardly explain what happened to everyone."

I cocked an eyebrow at him as he just looked at me, his own smirk playing on his face. "It wouldn't be an awkward explanation."

"Right-" Pac cut me off with his lips, my eyes fluttering shut again as I melted into his touch. For as much happiness as these moments were bringing me, there was still that screeching voice in the back of my head saying all of the negative things I've heard throughout my life. I did my best to push them away, attempting to live in the moment and pure contentment.

_No one will ever actually love you. _

_Actually love you._

_Truly, sincerely love you._

An image of my mother screaming at me and slapping me in the face invaded my mind. My breath hitched in my throat as I pulled away from Pac in a sudden movement, forcing him to look at me in confusion. "What's wrong?"

I took a breath in as I felt the burning on my cheek, the words burning into my flesh. I stared blankly at Pac as he stared back, his eyes wide in worry.

"I-" I tried to force myself to speak, to get the words out. I felt an intense feeling of guilt wash over me as hurt flashed in Pac's eyes, his hand stroking my back.

_You have failed. You're nothing but a waste of life._

The burning feeling in my cheek was back, but this time it coursed through my body. I stood abruptly as I grabbed my cheek, staring at Pac as he looked up at me. His arms were reaching for me again and I backed up, tripping over my own feet and stumbling into the curtain. I turned around and pulled the material back, refusing to look at Pac behind me. "I have to go…"

"Jess!" I shut the curtain in a rush as I walked swiftly towards the exit to the hospital wing, Hannah's eyes catching my form and standing up from her seated position at a desk. "Jessaiya!"

I blocked everyone out as I rushed to get out of the suffocating air of the corridors. All I needed was to get outside and breathe again. The burning refused to leave my body and I felt my eyes begin to water again.

For some reason, the hurtful words I had heard over and over again were still affecting me.

* * *

><p><strong>This one took a bit longer because I wasn't sure how I wanted to write this particular chapter out. :**

**Shout-out to John Sandman and Dr Nafario for the support!**

**As always, let me know how I'm doing and I'll send you a magical weapons crate. ;)**


	7. Dismissed

"I am such an idiot." The groan left my mouth and vibrated against the metal table I had my left cheek smashed against. Although the burning in my body had subsided, the aftermath of guilty thoughts when I abruptly left Pac in the hospital wing had me feeling the complete opposite. My body is just ice cold with embarrassment and guilt. Now I was just trying to avoid Pac by hiding in the back of the cafeteria.

"Jessaiya?" I heard my name and craned my neck to glance up, keeping my cheek smashed to the table as Hannah came into view. I made some sort of noise in her direction and she cocked an eyebrow at me, shaking her head with a chuckle. "You look like you need a week of sleep and a cup of coffee."

I sighed as I raised my head from the table, placing my chin on my left fist. "Nix the coffee and give me the week of sleep and maybe someplace I can hide out in for the rest of my life."

"Oh my," Hannah looked at me with sincerity as she crossed both of her arms on the table. "I guess seeing Pac didn't go too well?"

"The opposite actually…" I trailed off as I rubbed my pointer finger over a smudge on the table, remembering the kiss Pac and I had shared.

"Um," I glanced up at Hannah and saw her scratch her right temple with her finger, looking at me in confusion. "Then why are you out here and not with Pac?"

"There's a good explanation for that," I bit the inside of my cheek as Hannah waited for me to continue. A sigh left my mouth as I placed my hands over my face to hide from her gaze, taking in a breath. "Pac and I ended up kissing while I was there and then some bad thoughts came back to me and then I just up and left Pac without an explanation and now I'm out here feeling guilty and trying to avoid a confrontation with him."

Hannah stared at me as I let out a relieved breath, peeking at her through the cracks in my fingers. She made a face and then leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms. I slowly lowered my hands from my face and looked at her in silence for a moment, a small smirk making its way onto her face. "Wait…you guys actually…"

She brought her hands up and pushed them together making a kissing noise as she did so. Her gaze met mine again and her smirk turned into a broad grin, her eyes narrowing. "Is that all that happened?"

I rolled my eyes at her as I reached a hand out, smacking her in the shoulder as she let out a laugh. "Yes, Hannah! That's it!"

She swatted my hand away as her laughing died down, her gaze returning to me. "Okay, okay. What are you going to do when you actually have to see and talk to him again? You're both in a team, you know."

She leaned forward on her arms and cocked an eyebrow at me, my head lowering back to the tabletop as I sighed. "I don't know. I'll figure it out-"

"I suggest you figure it out sooner than later because here he comes." Hannah cut me off and when the words she spoke were processed in my brain I panicked. I looked up at Hannah to see her pointing behind me, my eyes going wide as I whipped my head around. I saw Pac making a b-line straight for our table and I felt my heartbeat in my throat. My eyes darted everywhere but Pac's face and I abruptly got up from my seat, quickly making my way past Hannah and down a corridor as I heard her shout at me. I blocked her out as I ran into a marine, forcing him to step out of the way and send a glare in my direction. I mumbled out a 'sorry' to him before making my way down the twisting corridors, trying to find somewhere to hide again. I knew I wasn't ready to face Pac and talk about what had happened and why I had left him, so taking the cowardly way out was my only choice right now.

I glanced behind me and swallowed hard when I saw Pac right on my tail, his face contorted into a look of determination. For just being in the hospital and having some severely bruised ribs he was moving fast.

"Jess!" I heard Pac shout at me through the hallway I was walking down, but I didn't respond. I kept walking, taking a sharp turn into one of the bunk areas.

"Shit…" I cursed under my breath when I realized the bunker I had entered happened to be a dead end, coming a few feet from the back wall before I stopped and clenched my fists.

"Jessaiya!" Pac used my full name and I flinched, realizing he was serious. I felt a hand roughly grip my right bicep and I turned my head to look, meeting Pac's gaze as he looked down at me. His face held a bit of anger and all of the guilty feelings washed over me again. He looked down the empty hallway of the bunker and then at the door behind me, reaching forward and opening it. I felt a light push on my bicep and I moved backwards into the bathroom, smacking my hip bone into the metal sink and grating my teeth in pain. I heard the door slam as Pac locked it, turning to see me holding my hip with my eyes narrowed at the wall. "What are you doing?"

"Why don't you watch where you're pushing me next time so I don't just destroy my lower body on a metal sink? There's a bone that juts out there, you know." It took me a moment to realize I had never said it was my hip bone that smashed into the sink and I frowned when I heard Pac snort from beside me. I looked over at him as he smirked at me, my eyes rolling as I mumbled towards him. "Shut up…"

I made a face when Pac's laughing didn't die down and it only made him laugh harder, reaching out a hand to place against the wall behind me to steady himself. I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Pac."

He held a hand up as he attempted to steady his breathing again, snorting when he thought about what I said. I sighed and crossed my arms. "I don't understand what is so appealing about dick jokes."

Pac coughed once as he straightened up, shrugging at me with a grin. "They're okay, but when they come from a girl it's just sixty percent cooler."

"Good to know…" I made another face and shook my head, leaning back against the sink as Pac looked at me. His face fell into a more serious tone after a moment and he mimicked my posture, crossing his arms over his chest. "In all seriousness, Jess…I think we really need to talk about what happened yesterday."

When those dreaded words left his mouth my gaze fell to the floor. "I know."

My voice was almost a whisper and Pac strained to hear me, moving forward and making me attempt to back into the sink further in response. I felt hands reach out and grab my face after a moment, my eyes meeting Pac's confused ones. "Why did you just leave yesterday? You just got up and left me, Jess."

I raised my hands and latched onto his wrists, my gaze turning to the wall beside us. "I didn't leave you because I don't like you, Pac. I just…"

I trailed off, finding it hard to talk about my past out loud. I knew Pac wouldn't judge me for any of it, but talking about my mother and how I was treated by my family was like spitting up acid. It physically hurt.

"You can tell me anything, Jess." Pac's voice was a whisper as he looked at me in sincerity, his thumbs rubbing the sides of my temples. I brought my eyes back to him and the look he was giving me left a pain in my chest. No one had ever looked at me with so much kind-heartedness. I bit my lip and closed my eyes for a moment, opening them and staring straight at Pac. "My mother."

Pac made a face of confusion once again. "Your mother what?"

"She," I could feel my neck and back tense as I prepared to tell Pac about what had happened, taking in a slow breath again. "She mentally and…physically abused me as a kid. She shoved me into these beauty classes and etiquette classes to turn me into a proper lady, one with no independent thoughts. She shouted vulgar names at me, told me no one would ever care for me, no one would ever love me. She hit me when I tried to defend myself or try to talk some sense into her. Dad never tried to rescue me from the wretched woman. He just went along with it."

At this point the unwanted tears were starting to well up again and I cringed, placing my hands to my face and pushing Pac's away in the process. I felt Pac's arms wrap around my form, pulling me tight into his chest as his head rested on top of mine. I took a sharp breath in, pushing the tears away. "Her words came back to me yesterday. All of the ones that told me I wouldn't be anything, wouldn't do anything worthwhile, wouldn't be wanted by anyone. Her words made me feel useless. She convinced me that I was pathetic…"

"You're not pathetic." Pac's voice was firm as he held me tighter, my body burning once again with the hateful words swimming through me. I slowly dropped my hands from my face as Pac pulled back, gripping the sides of my face and forcing me to look at him. "You're the strongest girl I know. You're the bravest leader I could have ever had the honor to work with. You're one of the smartest people I know. You are your own independent person and you don't let anyone step all over you. You have a quick wit and a smartass mouth," I cracked a grin at that as Pac laughed. "And on top of all of that, you're beautiful. You are stunning and I will literally fight anyone who tries to fight me on that."

I let out a small chuckle as I felt a tear roll down my cheek. This time the tears were out of pure happiness at hearing all of the things I had been denied my entire life. All of the things I never heard growing up. I finally heard all of the things I needed to hear to start mending the mental and physical wounds left behind by a woman who should have never been blessed with a child.

"That is why I love you, Jessaiya Recker. You know damn well that I love you. You are everything your mother failed to see. You are everything I wish I could be." Pac smiled at me as I grinned, wiping the trail of the one lone tear from my face. "You don't want to be me. I'm a lot of broken pieces in a seemingly put together body."

"That's not-"

"It would also mean you would want to be a girl. I don't know if you could handle suddenly having boobs." I waited for a moment to take in Pac's shocked face, my grin spreading wider by the second. It took him a moment, but he finally let out a laugh, dropping his hands from my face to grip the sink behind me.

"She's back, ladies and gentlemen," Pac looked at me with a grin and I laughed. "Irish would be proud of that one."

"Speaking of Irish, I think we should go find him because a lot of people on the ship are talking shit about all of us." I made a face as Pac nodded, standing straight again with a shrug. "I guess, but right after…"

Pac suddenly moved forward again and scooped me up, leaning me back against the sink as I let out a light squeal of surprise. He grinned at me and I made a face at him as I placed my hands on his shoulders, my legs moving to either side of his waist. "What the hell are you doing, Pakowski?"

"This." He smirked at me before locking his lips on mine, taking me to the place I had always needed to be once again.

* * *

><p>"Recker! Go and put a leash on Irish. You clowns brought the whole damn city on board," I heard a random marine shout from behind me and I looked at him, running a hand through my loose hair. "You turned us into a shelter that we should just leave the fuck alone. They're the enemy."<p>

I sighed and rolled my eyes at him, already sick of the remarks I was receiving again while attempting to find Irish. I just continued to walk forward through the cafeteria, making sure to make eye contact with the marine as I sent him a broad smile. I saw his confident stance falter for a moment as someone else let out a low whistle at my response making me chuckle when I entered another corridor. I chuckled again as I ruffled the side of my hair. "Idiots…"

"Med bay is just down there..." I turned my attention to another hallway where a door opened and a voice could be heard, Pac coming into sight a few moments later. His full attention was on the hallway in front of him as he remained in place, the door slowly closing behind him and a smirk creeping onto my face. I took a few long strides towards him and gently pushed the back of his knee forward with my own, forcing him to bend backwards and into my grip. I placed a hand over his mouth as he roughly grabbed my arms, struggling to remove them from around his shoulders. "Tell me where the launch codes are and no one gets hurt."

I used my best man voice and made a mock-angry face at Pac, watching his eyes slowly scan up to mine, rolling them when he realized it was just me. I released him from my grip and he stood again, straightening out the shemagh around his neck. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Don't leave your guard down. That was just too easy." I smirked at him again as I strode past him down the hallway, earning a glare and frown from him. "That was just rude…"

"Rude, schmude. Get over it-" I let out a small scream as I was lifted into the air, feeling Pac's grip around my torso. I craned my neck around to look at him, sending him a glare as he smirked. "Put me down."

"Don't leave your guard down. That was just too easy." Pac mocked me, setting me on the ground again and continuing down the hallway. I glared again and then matched his pace, punching him in the shoulder and earning a face from Pac. "What were you saying about med bay?"

"Hannah's husband. He was talking a few minutes ago," He shrugged once before continuing. "But, the dude's head trauma might be more severe than we thought."

I made a face as we took a turn down another hallway leading to the medical wing. "That's not good."

"Neither is that." Pac pointed a finger at the scene in front of us, my stride quickening towards the door where Hannah was arguing with two sailors.

"Are you insane? My husband's in there!" Hannah attempted to push past the two guards that were positioned in front of her, both of them blocking her out once again. "I'm sorry. I don't recognize you-"

"I am a doctor! I was just here yesterday!" Hannah groaned before crossing her arms, shooting a glare at the sailor who spoke. "Let me in. Please, he needs me. I must see my husband. Who's in charge here?"

"Can you please step back, m'am?" The guard on the right reached a hand forward, pushing Hannah back by the shoulder.

"She's telling the truth. Let her through, squids." Pac's voice held a bit of annoyance as we walked up to them, my eyebrow cocking at the two sailors. Their faces held a bit of shock and embarrassment when they realized who we were, their gazes shooting to the ground as they moved away from the door. "Sorry, Sergeant Recker, Pakowski."

None of us responded as Hannah walked in first followed by Pac, myself walking in last. All three of us walked up to the cot her husband was occupying, her hand grabbing the forearm of the doctor standing by the cot. "You need to do a CT scan. He may have intracranial bleeding."

The doctor gently removed her arm from Hannah's grip, sending her a slight frown. "There's no means. Most of the equipment is down now due to the EMP blast. The plan is to rendezvous with the USS Titan and then we can use their facilities."

"I will stay with him then until we can get to their machines." Hannah nodded at the woman as she moved forward towards her husband on the cot, sitting down on the edge of it as she took his hand in hers. The other doctor nodded at Hannah, closing the curtain behind her. "Okay, Hannah. I can take all the help I can get right now…"

I watched the doctor walk over to another curtained off room before I felt a nudge on my arm, looking over to see Pac biting his lip and looking at the curtain Hannah and her husband were behind. "Unconscious. That's not good."

"No. We better get in touch with Titan fast or he might not make it." I frowned as I crossed my arms and looked up at Pac, his gaze meeting mine. "Oh…I got word that Irish was actually looking for you now. I think he's on the lower vehicle deck. Did you two kiss and make up yet?"

I shot a look at Pac as I began walking out of the med bay, smirking as I turned my head forward. "You actually want me going around kissing other men? Wow, didn't know we were so free to do what we wanted…"

I could literally feel Pac's frown from behind me. "That is absolutely not what I meant. I would appreciate it if you would just kiss me."

I let out a chuckle as I pulled open one of the doors, holding it open for Pac to walk through first and letting it close behind me as I matched his stride again. "I was kidding. You know I only have eyes for you, cupcake."

Pac made a face as I laced our hands together, my gloveless hand meeting a stark contrast with his gloved one. "I think we could do without the pet names thing, sweetheart."

"I don't know, it's kind of cute-" I felt the grip on my hand tighten and I laughed, bumping into him. "Kidding, kidding."

Pac's smile returned to his face as we walked in comfortable silence again, our hands swinging together in the empty hallway. As I looked around Pac spoke again, cutting through the silence in a more serious tone. "This whole thing is just fucking ridiculous. If Admiral Chang is just out warmongering he can strike us. We'd be dead before we see it coming."

"I sure hope it's just not as bad as it looks." I shrugged at Pac as we came up on the staircase leading to the vehicle deck, Pac's hand releasing mine and gently going to my back as I went down first. "When we get to the Titan we'll know for sure."

I nodded at his response as I quickly made my way down the steps, walking farther into the vehicle deck with Pac following behind. I watched a few personnel move a plane as I walked toward a door, pulling it open and allowing Pac to go through first. He glanced back at me when I closed the door, waiting for me to walk up to him. "Irish is a great guy, but he always gets us into these situations. I dunno. Maybe I should say something."

I shrugged at him and sighed. "Pac, that was my job the last mission and look what happened. I kept my mouth shut and now everyone thinks we fucked up big time. I can only imagine what Garrison is going to say to me when I finally have to face him."

I ground my teeth at the thought as Pac remained silent, his gaze falling to the floor. "Do you think they'll take away your lead duties?"

"I honestly don't know." My voice was quiet as I shrugged again, walking forward with Pac.

"It's tough. A unit member should never overstep what the leader decides. That's just bad for unit cohesion," Pac shrugged from next to me and I nodded at him as he opened another door, allowing me to walk through first this time. "Then again, you have to leave room for conscience, right?"

"True-"

"Then again, what do I know? That was your call to make, not Irish's." I grabbed Pac's arm before he jumped down a ramp. "_Then again_, I never made the call. I just stayed silent and now I'm going to pay the consequences for that."

Pac looked at me solemnly as I jumped down the ramp first, hearing his feet hit the ground right after mine. We walked down the short ramp to where Irish and the rest of the refugees were stationed, watching as Irish walked over to a small child.

"Irish!" Irish glanced up when Pac called his name, both of us walking over to him as the child took the food from Irish's grip. "There you go."

He smiled at the child before walking our way, nodding when he came to a stop next to us. "Pac, Recker."

I felt something grab onto my right leg and I looked down, seeing a little girl tightly gripping my leg with her face smashed into my outer thigh. I smiled brightly down at her and then gently moved her away from my leg, crouching down to her level. "Hello there. What's your name?"

The girl looked away from me shyly before her mother called out to her, smiling back at me quickly before giggling as she ran to her mother. I grinned again before standing straight, meeting the amused gazes of Irish and Pac. Irish made a kissy face at me as he chuckled. "That was adorable."

I shrugged at Irish as I looked back at the little girl again, watching her attempt to open a food packet her mother had given her.

"Head count is 396 survivors. Mostly women and children," I heard Irish speak again and I turned toward him, watching his gaze move between both Pac and I. "We did a good thing, right?"

I pondered Irish's question before glancing back at the little girl again, imagining what could have happened to her if we didn't rescue all of these people. "I believe we did. Absolutely."

"Yeah…" I shot my gaze to Pac as he trailed off, uncertainty lacing his voice.

"Come on, man. You're not buying into that 'they're the enemy' bullshit?" Irish shot a look at Pac, throwing his arms out to the sides in questioning. Pac crossed his arms and shot his gaze to the floor, chewing on his lip. "No, of course not. But, it wasn't your call to make. Dunn put Jess in charge."

"Pac." My voice held a warning tone and Pac shot his gaze to me, looking over at Irish when he groaned. "I mean, come on, Pac. What the fuck is this about? The right thing or fucking protocol, man?"

Irish didn't wait for Pac to answer as he waved him off, turning abruptly and walking towards a door. "You know what, let's take it upstairs. I'll answer to Garrison if there's a problem."

"No, you won't answer. Squad Leader will," I felt Pac roughly grab my hand and pull me behind him, following Irish quickly through the door. "Under ideal circumstances this ship would be hard pressed to accommodate 400 refugees."

"If Garrison's pissed, he's pissed. It was the right thing to do." Irish shot back a response to Pac, walking through another door as Pac continued to pull me behind him, my eyes rolling at their bickering.

"Your presentation needs work, Irish." Pac shot a look at Irish, earning a roll of the eyes from him. "Just shut it until we meet with the Captain."

There was annoyance in Irish's tone as we made our way toward a staircase, red lights and a loud voice over the PA system interrupting Pac's retort. "General Quarters, General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations! This is not a drill!"

"Let's go topside!" Irish's voice shouted out over the PA's voice and Pac's hand released mine, all of us sprinting up the stairs. We emerged onto one of the open decks and I squinted at the sun, Irish pushing through a few sailors who were standing around. "Make way, sailors. Make way!"

"Mother of god. Look!" Pac gripped hard onto the railing as he pointed into the distance, Irish and I making our way over to stand next to him. My eyes went wide in shock as we slowly sailed past a warship that was ablaze and sinking. The Titan. Irish's voice was low as he frowned at the sight. "I'll be damned."

"Holy shit..." I mumbled to myself as I felt the immense heat radiating off the ship as it went past, my hands gripping tightly to the railing I was leaning on for support.

"It's not good." Irish spoke again and I nodded, running a hand through my hair in disbelief. "So many bodies…"

"Tombstone!" I jumped at the loud voice that boomed over everyone, all three of us turning in the direction of the voice to see Garrison standing before us with a displeased expression. "Sergeant Recker, bring your men. With me!"

I paused for a moment out of shock before jumping to move, quickly making my way up another set of stairs with Pac and Irish behind me as my voice finally returned. "On your six, Sir!"

We made our way into a small, makeshift briefing room and stood around Garrison, his gaze hard as he stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze as Pac stood to my left with Irish beside him. "The clock is ticking on Titan. I need eyes on her before she's lost forever to the deep blue."

Garrison's hard gaze finally left mine to look at papers spread out on a surface to his right, allowing me to let out the breath I was holding in relief. I ripped the hair tie from around my wrist and bunched my hair in my hands, winding it around as Garrison's eyes scanned the documents. "There's a number of variables. We don't know who attacked them or if they'll be back. We can't afford any surprises."

Garrison's eyes left the documents and met Irish's and Pac's before resting once again on mine. His gaze was once again hard and his voice was flat when he spoke. "Sergeant Recker, Agent Kovic will be taking the reins. You'll obey his orders as if they're my own."

All of the feeling in my body fell through me to the floor as I stared at Garrison, my teeth clenching when I felt Pac's and Irish's shocked gazes land on me. I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound would come out.

"Permission to speak, Sir-"

"Dismissed." Garrison interrupted Irish's rushed and panicked request as he gathered up the documents and turned to leave, walking out of the room and closing the door on us. We remained in silent shock before I looked over at Pac and Irish, their gazes slowly meeting mine. I stared at Irish before I looked at Pac, confusion and hurt present in my face. He looked sincerely at me before reaching forward, gently clutching my hand in his. "Jess…"

* * *

><p><strong>Whoo, even hearing those words in the game was hard.<strong>

**Huge shout-out to John Sandman! Hopefully your weapons crate poofed up randomly around you safely. ;)**

**As always, free weapons crates for those that choose to review and let me know how I'm doing!**


	8. The Right Decision

Losing my squad leader duties left me with an absence of feelings, but seeing the new squad leader made room for one particular emotion: loathing. To be blatantly honest, I didn't believe Kovic could be a good leader in any sense and I knew I wasn't the only one that thought so. He had a blatant disregard for what was right, such as saving civilians and comrades.

The guy just wanted to play God.

"We search the Titan for intel and survivors," Kovic's voice rang out in the empty briefing room as the door in front of us slammed open, all of us looking up at him. "Gear up. Weapons and rebreathers."

Kovic scanned over Irish and Pac for a moment before resting his gaze on me, sending me a look that showed he was seemingly smug with me losing my position. He remained this way for a moment before breaking eye contact, moving out of the room through the same door he had entered from. I stared after him, my hands opening and closing into fists.

"This is some grade-A bullshit." Irish shook his head as he walked over towards the crate where our weapons were located, reaching in to grab an M249 and a Type 88 LMG. I looked over at him as he checked the ammo, nodding my head once as Pac just stared at the door Kovic had gone through. I made my way over to the weapons crate and looked around, reaching in for a SCAR-H. I held it up and glared at it, slamming my palm into the magazine. "Fucking..."

I could feel the anger and loathing for Kovic course through my body now and Irish grinned at me, happy to find someone that hated Kovic as much as he did.

"As much as I dislike the guy, I don't think we should let that show and just follow his orders like Garrison said." I felt Pac come up next to me and place a hand on my left shoulder, giving it a light squeeze and releasing the anger and loathing from my body. I glanced back at him as he looked at me and I nodded, letting out a light sigh in agreement. "Fine."

Irish scoffed and just shook his head. "Yeah, fine…whatever."

Pac shot Irish a look as he reached for an M4 and a UMP45, pulling them out of the crate and checking their ammo. I reached around him and grabbed the MK11 off of the table along with a rebreather, moving to find Kovic with Irish and Pac behind me. When Kovic caught sight of me he nodded. "I've readied a RHIB for launch. Let's move."

"Errand squad Oscar Mike." I could hear Irish speak from behind me as I followed Kovic, Pac shaking his head. "Come on, Irish."

"Hurry up, marines. Time is not our friend. Sergeant Pakowski, take the wheel." All four of us walked down a staircase to a RHIB, Kovic climbing in first with Pac behind him. I watched as Irish climbed in and took his seat to the right of Kovic. I took a breath in and then climbed in the RHIB, taking my seat to the left of Kovic, but smashing myself against the edge as far away from him as possible.

"We are all in the dark about what's happening, marines. But, this is your opportunity to help shed some light. Don't fuck it up." I stared ahead into the sun, but I could feel Kovic's gaze stay on my form for longer than a few seconds. My mouth wanted so badly to put him in his place, but my body and brain said otherwise.

"Understood, Agent. Lots of people on the Valkyrie are depending on us." I saw Pac glance down at me from his position behind the wheel as we were lowered into the water, my entire being silently thanking him for speaking before I could lash out. Kovic smirked and then glanced back at Pac as the boat splashed hard into the ocean, forcing me to turn my head away from the edge. "This is much bigger than the Valkyrie, son."

I remained silent, staring hard at the water moving past us as the RHIB raced against the waves towards the Titan. There was a moment of complete silence aside from the rushing waves before Pac cut through it, his voice tense. "Look at it…I was almost posted to her."

I tore my gaze away from the waves to look back at Pac with sincerity, Irish looking over at him before turning his gaze to the floor of the RHIB. "We got any idea about how much time we have before she goes under?"

"Enough." Kovic's answer was short and sweet, but apparently that wasn't enough for Irish. "What exactly are we eyes on for, Agent? The Titan's a big motherfucking ship."

Kovic shot a glance back at Irish as I just kept my eyes off of everyone in the boat, not entirely confident that I could retain composure if I was forced to respond to Kovic in the current time. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride, marine. You will be briefed when we get there."

"You're leading us to the unknown. What's to enjoy?" I could see the annoyance rising in Irish's tone of voice as he spoke to Kovic again, earning a stern look from the leader as Pac let out a small sigh. "Irish, come on-"

"You're here to do a job and I'm calling the fucking shots. Okay?" Kovic interrupted Pac and snapped at Irish, turning his body fully to face him as I finally turned my gaze to the both of them. I saw Irish glance up at me and give me a small smirk before looking back at Kovic, giving him a curt nod. "Yes, Sir, Agent Kobitch."

I couldn't help the wide grin that made its way onto my face as I held a hand to my mouth, trying hard not to laugh at the absolute shocked look Kovic shot Irish. That look soon turned to complete rage as Pac just stood behind the wheel looking uncomfortable with the entire situation that was playing out in front of him. I saw Kovic square his shoulders as he looked hard at Irish. "Come again, marine?!"

Irish smiled at Kovic as he turned his body to look out over the edge. "Just enjoying the ride like you said."

I smiled again as I turned to look out towards the Titan, hearing Kovic mumble something incoherent as he turned forward again. "There's a reef below the Titan on the edge of a 10,000 foot canyon. She might slide off any minute."

"I don't see anyone," Pac's voice carried over the waves and I scanned over the Titan, thinking exactly what he voiced. "Where the fuck is the crew? I can't believe it…"

"Believe it, Little Brother. Someone has killed her." Irish glanced at Pac before returning his gaze to the blazing battleship, the RHIB turning to move around it.

"Kovic, Sir. Where should we go? How do we get in?" Pac turned the wheel again and the RHIB circled around to the other side of the Titan, Kovic scanning over the exterior of the ship and then pointing to a section where a large hole was blown into the side. "There! Hole in the B.G.B."

Pac nodded and turned the RHIB toward the opening, Kovic's face going grim as he took in the excessive damage. "I've seen that before. Chinese anti-ship missile. Drive through, Pac!"

Pac put more speed on the RHIB and drove it into the break in the exterior, the RHIB jerking to a stop on dry, jagged steel. Irish and I remained in our spots as Pac powered the RHIB down, Kovic looking around the interior of the ship before turning to look at all of us. "Listen up. The Titan was out of range of the Shanghai EMP blast. She has several hours of report data gathered…stuff we never saw. That's why we're here."

"We better move fast then." Kovic nodded at Pac as he exited the RHIB, all three of us following behind to move deeper into the ship. Kovic and Irish made their way up onto a ledge as Pac and I followed. I threw my SCAR-H up onto the ledge first and then hauled myself up, forced to stay prone when I realized just how low the overhang was.

"Let's go, push through!" I could hear Kovic yell up ahead and I began slowly moving forward behind Irish, hearing Pac climbing up behind me. I moved around a corner and could feel the heat from various fires hit my face, my mind going straight to the thoughts of people burning alive in the upper decks and drowning in the lower. I cringed at the idea as I moved forward, coming up to the end of the path and sliding off of the ledge to a lower portion of the ship next to Irish and Kovic.

"Oh, shit, Kovic. You got an exit strategy if this thing rolls over?" Irish lowered his gun as he looked around, shooting Kovic a look as I watched Pac slide down from the ledge. He stumbled a bit as his feet hit the ground and I grabbed his arm, steadying him as he gave me a nod.

Kovic just shrugged at Irish's question as he continued forward. "She will slide off the reef at some point. When that happens we'd better be out of here," He glanced back at Irish and then at me. "_With_ the voyage recorder."

Kovic turned forward and then continued down another burning corridor, leaving all three of us to follow behind. I felt a nudge on my arm and looked over at Irish, smiling at the annoyed look on his face. "Not much of an exit strategy, is it?"

I let out a quiet laugh and then motioned my head in Kovic's direction, leaning towards Irish. "Maybe we can get the recorder and then leave Kovic behind. Tell everyone we just lost him as we scrambled to get out."

Irish smirked at me as we moved down another corridor, checking corners as we went. I soon felt something nudge my back and I turned my head, seeing it was Pac's gun. He shot me a look and then a half-smile. "Please don't let it come to that...unless it has to. Then I have no choice but to go along with it."

I stopped moving and lowered my gun, shooting Pac a look. "Please do not tell me you actually like that guy? That is the last person I would want my life in the hands of."

Irish snorted from beside me with a nod as Pac just stared at me, his face remaining neutral. "I just follow what the commander tells me-"

"I know, I know. Rules and whatnot." I shot Pac a smile as I waved my hand at him, raising my gun again and walking farther into the belly of the ship. When I turned around another corner I came up on Kovic looking around at the letters painted on the walls, his gaze meeting mine when he realized we had caught up to him. "Watch your step. We're on C deck and we're heading for the damage control center. Look for hatch G-46. That hatch leads to a route all the way through."

"Okay, where is it?" I cocked an eyebrow at Kovic as he looked around, his arm raising ahead of him to point down a hallway. "Over that way. Let's move."

There was a pause as everyone stayed where they were, Kovic's face contorting into a look of annoyance after a moment. I stared hard at him and then slowly, painfully, began moving towards the path he had pointed to, hating that he expected me to take the lead when he was supposed to be in charge. Hell, if something was going to collapse on the ship and pin the first person who went through, I would rather it be Kovic than Irish, Pac, or myself. The squad leader should always sacrifice themselves for the safety of the crew. I cast my gaze upward when I heard a loud creaking above my head and I paused, waiting for something to actually crush me like I had just imagined. When nothing happened I smirked, moving forward slowly to allow Kovic to be the one positioned under the strained structure. _Now's your chance to be the leader, Kovic._

"What can you guys pull out of the voyage recorder?" I heard Irish question Kovic from behind me as I moved farther forward, coming up on a doorway. I pushed my gun to the side and reached for the handle, pushing my shoulder and body weight into the door to open it.

"It gobbles up a lot of shit: ship route, transponder and radar logs, incoming comms, outgoing." I stepped through the door first as Kovic answered Pac, my hand covering my face when a wire sparked from beside me. I felt a light push on my right shoulder as Kovic pushed past me, walking over to a hatch on the floor and crouching down. "Here's the hatch."

I glared at him as I straightened back up, Irish coming to stand next to me as Pac walked forward to help Kovic haul open the hatch on the floor. There was a loud creaking noise as the hatch was lifted up and I cringed at what was below: dark, murky water probably filled with death.

"We're going into that?" Pac voiced what Irish and I were thinking and Kovic shot him a look, reaching for his rebreather. "You can swim, right, marine? Right?"

Pac stared at him for a moment as Kovic looked down into the water, Pac's unsure gaze meeting mine. I shrugged at him as Kovic placed a hand on Pac's shoulder, his gaze shooting back to the leader. "We dive all the way to mid deck where we should arrive above sea level. Gear up and follow me."

Before Pac could respond to Kovic he jumped into the water, leaving all three of us to watch after him. Irish grunted and then looked at Pac, holding an arm out. "You heard what the motherfucker said. Jump in."

Pac looked up at him, his eyes wide. "I mean, I don't have problem following the orders. It's just…"

Pac trailed off as his gaze shot back down to the water, squinting in an attempt to see down to the bottom. I shook my head and walked forward, moving to sit on the edge of the hatch. "Think of it this way. With all of the dead bodies present, it's like swimming through the River Acheron in hell," I reached for the rebreather on my head and pulled it down over my face, looking at Pac and Irish. "Since we'll all be dead with Kovic in charge anyway."

I jumped down into the murky water before either of them could answer, squinting and looking around for movement in all of the darkness and debris floating by. I decided to move forward after I couldn't sense Kovic's presence and swam towards a bright light above one of the other doorways underwater. I jumped and exhaled roughly when I bumped into something, looking up to see the dead body of one of the sailors assigned to the Titan. I blinked hard and then reached an arm out, pushing it away gently with my hand. I kicked my legs and kept moving forward through another hallway, hoping to see the light of day at some point. Two hallways and a lot of swimming later, I finally came up on a room full of hanging wires and broken steel beams. I saw light hitting the water from above and swam up, emerging from the water just below a ledge. I pushed the rebreather from my face back up to my forehead and coughed, reaching up and hauling myself onto the ledge just as Irish and Pac emerged from the water behind me. I shook some of the excess water from my body and gun as I looked back at Irish and Pac, sending them a smirk. "That was fun, huh?"

Irish shot me a glare as he shook his vest out when he made it on top of the ledge, my gaze meeting Pac's struggling form. I reached a hand out and he took it, allowing me to help him out of the water and onto the ledge. He sent me a half-smile as he bent over a bit, shaking water out of his boots. I reached forward and took the beanie and rebreather from his head, placing the rebreather under my arm as I rung the water out of his beanie.

"Get a move on! We don't have all day!" I heard Kovic's voice ring through the room and I rolled my eyes, reaching up and sliding the beanie onto Pac's head, handing him the rebreather as he thanked me. I turned around to move towards Kovic's voice and my ears picked up on another sound up ahead, Irish catching on and moving past me. "Hey, listen!"

"Survivors!" Pac's tone had picked up dramatically as he ran forward towards a door next to Irish, Kovic brushing off the sounds as if they were nothing. "Could be mechanical. We have to move. Water level is rising fast."

Irish hauled open the door and held it open for Pac to go through first, Kovic following behind with Irish and I picking up the back. Pac paused ahead of us and glanced back, listening for the sounds again. "They're close. Sound's coming from just up ahead."

"Come on. Where the fuck are they?" Irish kept his voice low beside me as he listened, my gaze remaining on the doorways around us in an attempt to pinpoint exactly where the sounds were coming from. A louder sound came from just in front of us and we all turned towards it, Irish walking forward. "Sir? Sounds like an SOS. Someone could be trapped."

"Don't know that, Sergeant." Kovic shrugged and continued forward as Irish looked at him in disbelief, heat making its way through my body in angry waves. I walked forward and placed a hand on Irish's shoulder, keeping my hard gaze on Kovic's back and my voice low. "We'll find them."

Irish sighed and then looked down at me. "Whatever happened to intel and searching for survivors, too?"

I shook my head as I moved forward, glancing back at Irish as I followed behind Pac. "Apparently, it looks like our new squad leader doesn't give a shit about that."

"You got that right…" Irish snorted from behind me as we all moved through another door into an engine room, winding out way through small staircases towards the control room and hopefully the few survivors.

"Engine room. Look at that. Whole floor is under water." Pac's gaze shot downward towards where the engine room floor would have been located and he grimaced, continuing to move forward behind Kovic.

"Shit, I think the water's rising," Irish's words forced my gaze to go down towards the water and I felt my heartrate pick up speed, the water slowly seeping up the walls. "Fucking great, she's filling up."

All of us quickened our pace towards another door, the sounds we heard from earlier coming from behind it. Pac moved forward and reached for the door, hauling it open. "They're on the other side of the door!"

Pac couldn't get the door open fast enough as Irish and I pushed past Kovic, following Pac into the room.

"Over here!" A voice caught our attention and we looked down, seeing two sailors trapped below a steel grate. My eyes widened as I crouched down, reaching a hand down to grab the sailor's hand that was reaching through the grate. "The water's rising! You gotta help us up! This is the only way out of here."

"We'll help you." I smiled reassuringly at him as Pac crouched down next to me with Irish crouched on the other side, his hands grabbing the edges of the grate and searching for some sort of leverage. "Don't worry. We're gonna get you out."

"Step aside, marine." I felt Kovic push me out of the way and my hand was ripped from the sailor's, my body pushing into Pac as I glared over at Kovic. I watched Kovic grab at the grate in an attempt to free the two men, my face showcasing the anger I felt for Kovic's actions. Kovic groaned as he stood up again, grabbing his gun from the floor. "It's welded shut."

"Shoot it open!" One of the sailors shouted up at Kovic in panic, staring up at all of us with fear present in their features. I stared back at him in helplessness, Kovic shaking his head down at them and then looking up at us. "They're both dead anyway. Let's move."

Everything in me finally snapped at those words and I shot an accusing gaze at Kovic, my hands clenching into fists as I stood abruptly. "So that's it then? You're just going to fucking leave them here? You fucking coward!"

Kovic looked at me with a neutral expression as Irish remained on the ground, attempting to pry open the grate. I felt Pac's hand on my arm as I seethed, his grip attempting to pull me back. "Jess-"

"What the fuck _is _your motive, Kovic? Huh? All you fucking care about is the damn voyage recorder! These men need our help! They're going to die if we don't help them, you fucking asshole!" I moved forward and snarled at Kovic, Pac's arms encircling my waist to keep me from jumping on Kovic and ripping him to shreds. Kovic eyed me hard as he remained still. "Are you done, Sergeant Recker?"

"Fuck you-" I was cut off when Pac pulled me into his chest, placing a hand over my mouth in an attempt to keep me from saying things I couldn't take back. I struggled to break away from him as Irish watched us, his face contorting into a look of anger as he stood up and looked at Kovic. "We can't leave them here to die."

Kovic looked at him and glared, throwing an arm out towards the grate on the ground. "Look- even if we did have a torch it would take nine minutes to cut the welds. At the rate the water is rising, when we do get them out they'll be corpses," Kovic brought his gaze over to my form that was now still in Pac's arms. "We leave them. That's an order. You heard Garrison."

I didn't look at Kovic as he spoke, my gaze hard as I stared at the wall behind Pac. Irish glared harder at Kovic and shook his head. "Man, fuck you," He crouched back down and began prying at the gate again as Kovic sneered at him. "Hold on, soldiers!"

Irish slammed his fists into the grate when it wouldn't budge and he stood up, swinging his gun over from his hip and aiming at the welds. Pac's eyes widened and I felt one arm leave my body, reaching out towards Irish. "No, don't!"

Irish ignored Pac as he began shooting haphazardly at the welds, Pac turning his body to protect me as bullets ricocheted off of the steel grate.

"Give me that!" Kovic's voice was stern and annoyed as he reached forward and ripped the gun out of Irish's hands, throwing it to the ground. "Dammit, Irish! Let's fucking move!"

Before any of us could respond back to Kovic he turned on his heel and walked through the door towards the control room, leaving us in the room to stare after him. I pushed away from Pac as he reluctantly let me go, watching me walk over to the grate.

"Fuck him, fuck this whole mission!" Irish's anger had boiled over at this point and he roughly grabbed his gun, smashing his palm into the magazine and then moving to follow Kovic. I watched him leave and then felt a hand on my forearm, looking to my right to see Pac looking at me. I nodded slowly up at him and then moved to follow him through the door. "This is all kinds of fucked up..."

"Hey, wait! They locked us in here! Please...don't leave me! I don't wanna die!" I felt the complete panic and desperation resonate through the sailor's voice and I cringed, finally realizing that this decision and those voices would never fail to haunt me.

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><p><strong>Huge shout-out's to John Sandman, Megatronus117, and the lovely guest for their reviews!<strong>

**As always, I love to hear feedback on how I'm doing, so don't be shy! A magical weapons crate is always in store for those who do! :D**


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